It's complicated
by LoveIsAlwaysLouder
Summary: They were co-workers and friends, she was his work wife and nothing more, until they go too far at the Christmas party and suppressed feelings begin to rise. Will their love survive or end their careers before they even start?
1. Work Wife

A little something that just popped into my head! It's just basic fluff right now, but maybe it'll turn into something more. I hope you enjoy!

All rights to the rightful owners :)

Klaus spent approximately sixty hours a week in the Salvatore and associates publishing offices on the forty fourth floor of the empire state building. Chained to his cubicle day and night 6 days a week, spell checking emails and fielding the dozens of manuscripts he had to direct to the various bigwigs of the office dreaming of the day he would be allowed to do something more important than the work of an assistant. He knew what he had signed up for when he took the job with Salvatore; minimum five years as a laggy before he would even get the chance to edit so much as an author bio, but those five years would open the door to being a big league editor. So he slaved away, keeping his mouth shut and his head down, waiting for his moment. After two years with a gassy sweat stained shirt wearing mouth breather in the cubicle next to him, Klaus was thrilled when he arrived to work one morning to find all the odd doodles that sweat stains had tacked up on his cubicle walls gone, and the desk reeking of the cleaning solution. He spent three blissful days enjoying the lack of stench of garlic hoagies and the ability to stretch his legs out across both spans of desks. He wasn't that thrilled with the idea of a new office mate, until she unpacked things next door.

She was a sunny blonde, with bright blue eyes and a blinding smile. The first day he was too nervous to introduce himself. He asked around the office and discovered that her name was Caroline. She had graduated from Princeton two years previously and had been working at Petrova Publishing in Boston before deciding to move to New York.

The first few weeks passed the same way it would with any other co-workers, they nodded pleasantly at each other when they passed in the hallways, made pleasant small talk if they were caught alone in the elevator and passed the salad tongs if they both decided to brave the cafeteria a few floors down. One day things changed. He had snatched the leftover doughnuts from a board meeting in the staff room and had been hoarding them at his desk all afternoon, indulging whenever the day became particularly painful. He was eyeing up another one when the ding of the rarely used inter office communication messenger on his computer sounded and a small instant messenger popped up on his screen.

 _CarolineFordes: I'll trade you a borderline stale scone from the coffee cart downstairs for one of those doughnuts_.

He looked up and saw a delicate hand reaching over the wall of his cubicle, waving a pale brown crumbling scone in a grayish napkin at him. He smiled to himself as he typed back.

 _NiklausMikaelson: Not exactly a fair trade, but it'll bite._

He took a tissue from the box on his desk and placed the doughnut on top of it and extended his arm to make the trade. Their fingers brushed as they exchanged baked good, and he couldn't help but notice the softness of her hands.

 _CarolineForbes: I'll even the score ;)_

When he arrived at work the next morning Caroline was already at her desk, and there was heavily glazed doughnut sitting on a napkin next to a cup of coffee on his. Attached to the paper cup was a pink sticky note that read and the scores all tied up.

It became a game to them. Trading off days, bringing each other coffee and baked goods. Trying to one up the other with the extravagant or weird things they could scrounge up from all around the city. He had once gotten up 2 hours early to ride the subway across town to get a huckleberry flan cupcake he had read about online. Soon they were sitting together in staff meetings, exchanging glances and trying to keep a straight face. He would stand at his desk and lean his arms against the half wall that their cubicle shared as they talked. They complained about their roommates, and their overbearing families. They'd laugh about all the bad dates they had both been on lately while they raided the break room fridge for any leftovers worth snatching. Over the last few months they had grown from co-workers to actual friends. Not work friends, but actual friends. They both spent most of their time in the office but during their free time they kept in contact via texts and emails. If a particularly horrific or hilarious event took place they were the first ones to receive a call. Klaus had even brought her Christmas shopping with him as he had no idea what to buy for his sister.

"What's all this then?" Klaus asked as he placed a brown sugar pretzel and caramel latte on Caroline's desk before sitting down at his own.

"There decorations." Caroline stated as she continued to pin up the string of paper snowflakes across her cubicle wall and attempted to hand the rest of the string off to him to hang.

"Yes I know. My real question is why are you putting them up?" Caroline shot him a disapproving look and shook the snowflakes at him.

"Don't play dumb. It's the Christmas party tonight, and we're all supposed to decorate our desks and be festive or whatever. Sherol sent around a memo, I'm pretty sure it's sitting on your desk right now." He rolled his eye, crinkling the bright red paper in his hands into a ball and lobbing it at her head. She artfully dodged it and continued to stand with her arm out stretched, decorations in hand.

"Ah yes, and I chose to ignore that. So I won't be decorating my desk."

"Yes, that's why I'm doing it for you. Just take the damn snowflakes and pin the end of the string in the corner." Klaus sighed heavily, but stood and took the paper from Caroline's hand.

"What's the point? I don't even know if I'm going to this damn party." Caroline stopped dead and stared in awe at her friend.

"Getting drunk on the company's expense? Please you're going. We're going."

"Car-"

"There's no discussion. If you don't go you're just going to seem like a Grinch and I'm going to have to spend the whole party defending you and you don't want to do that to me. If it awful we can just swipe a few bottles of champagne and call it a night okay?"

And like that, there he was in the same suit he had worn to work that day, but in the bright red tie Caroline had forced him into while they rode the elevator up to the party that night. It hadn't been that bad. The food was alright, and as promised there was plenty of alcohol. He was surprised by the sheer number of people there. Everyone in their office, their spouses, even a few children running around. At one point Klaus was standing by the glass walls of the conference room and chatting casually with one of the junior partners. Just as the man was turning away, Caroline came rushing up to him with two flutes of champagne in her hand.

"Put your arm around me." She hissed, forcing one of the drinks into his hand and pressing herself into his side.

"What?' he laughed, taking the drink happily and feeling the lightness in his head increase as he took a sip?

"Jerkins from distribution has been hitting on me all night and he's one too many drinks in, just put your frickin arm around me." He slid his arm around her waist, feeling the soft satin of her burgundy dress against his fingers.

John Jerkins stumbled past, throwing Klaus a dirty look as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips once again. Once he was safely away Klaus felt Caroline let out a massive breath.

"Thank you." She exclaimed breathily, letting her head fall against his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his torso. He chuckled, returning her hug.

"My pleasure love. That's what I'm here for."

It was some hours later, when the rest of the employees and their families were on the other side of the floor listening to speeches and toasts, but Klaus and Caroline were giggling like school children, sitting under his desk with one bottle of champagne and another of tequila. One of his arms was still wrapped around her waist and as she laughed her head ducked against his chest.

Klaus could smell her hair, like lavender, so close to his face.

"These people Car, there getting to me. It won't be long before this tequila bottle is attached to my hand permanently. Oh god, I honestly don't know what I would do if you weren't here to keep me sane."

"You'd have done something to get yourself deported long ago." He let out another loud laugh.

"In any case, I'm glad I have you as my work wife." Caroline took the tequila bottle from his hand

"Work wife. I like that. You'll have to start getting me nicer gifts for our anniversary. Oh and a ring! It doesn't have to be too fancy, I know our salary, and just something I can wear in the office. To ward of Jerkins."

"But of course, and we can go on our work honeymoon to the new Starbucks that opened down the street. I hear its tres romantic."

"You spoil me." She joked

"Anything for you dear," They laughed loud and deeply until their lungs hurt and they were out of breath and suddenly they were looking at each other, and their faces were oh so close, close enough to smell the tequila on their breath but transfixed enough not to care. All Klaus could look at was the arch of her upper lip and the feeling of his fingers against the small of her back.

"Anything." He breathed. It was unclear who leaned in first, whose lips touched first, but all they knew is that they were kissing now, under his desk in a room full of people. Her hands were in his hair, as she breathed in him. His hands ghosted against her back and up into her hair and neck, as he ran his fingers along her collarbone and shoulder. They were feverish and hurried, but at the same time it was as if time had stopped and the world itself was no longer spinning.


	2. Not so happy morning

All rights to their owners :)

Chapter two: Not so happy morning

Saturday was usually Caroline's one day to sleep in. Sundays were for early morning errands and getting the laundry done, but Saturday was for sleeping in late, and eating take out in her pajamas. This Saturday was different. She woke up to what felt like her head splitting open, she turned over in bed and glanced at the alarm clock. 5:56 am. She groaned, as she wondered how long it would take her to build up the strength to get a glass of water and some Advil, she pressed her head into the soft white sheets. Wait. Her sheets weren't white. They had been until she had mistakenly washed them with one of her red tee shirts a few months ago, but now they were most definitely pink. She was not lying on pink sheets. These sheets were white. Where the hell was she? and where the hell was her underwear?

Caroline took a moment to assess her situation. She was hungover, she was not in her own bed, her clothes were definitely not on, and judging by the sounds of light snoring coming from beside her she was not alone. She thought back trying to figure out the last thing she remembered from the night before. She'd gone to the company Christmas party, and met up with Klaus and… oh god. Klaus. Under his desk during the toasts, the tequila, his hands in her hair. She covered her face with her hands and tried to slow her breathing. It was coming back to her in waves. The long elevator ride to the lobby, giving their cab driver an obnoxious tip to compensate for making out the entire 35 minute ride to his apartment, how they didn't have the patience to wait for the elevator in his building's lobby and had tried to climb the 17 flights of stairs to his apartment, laughing their heads off and waking up who knows how many people. Stopping on the 9th floor landing for who know how long and the feelings of his hands wrapped around her waist. Trying to carry her up the rest of the stairs. Finally making it to his front door.

She needed to get out of there. She didn't know what last night was, she didn't know how it had happened, but what she did know is that she could not and would not talk about it right now. She attempted to slide out of bed silently, her toes touching the floor and praying that the floor boards wouldn't creak. She tipped toed around the room, pulling on her dress and tucking her bra into her purse. She still had no idea where her underwear was and at this point she was just hoping they weren't on the floor of their cab. She put her coat on as she exited the bedroom. This was her first time inside Klaus's apartment and as curious as she was, she had no time to look around. She was nervous that his roommate might wake up at any second, or worse Klaus himself.

She had her hand on the front door when she stopped. Was she supposed to leave a note? She wasn't very well versed in the art of the one night stand if that what this was. Beside what would she even say?

 _Dear Klaus,_

 _Thanks for the great night, see you at work on Monday._

 _xo, Caroline?_

No. There was no protocol for this. She exited the apartment, and put on her heels as soon as she was safely in the hallway. She made it all the way to the street before realizing that she had no idea where she was. She had no clue where Nik lived. Had he ever mentioned it? Tribeca? The village? They'd never left the office at the same time. They had never been to each other's apartments before; if they hung out outside of work they often met for lunch or coffee. Was it just her hangover or did this look a lot like her own neighbourhood? She looked down the street and sure enough, there was her building on the very next block. At least her walk of shame would be short and sweet, and wouldn't require her sitting on a subway seat with fewer layers to protect her then she'd like.

Despite the short walk she was still absolutely freezing by the time she reached her own apartment, and all she really wanted was to climb back into bed. Her own bed. With her nice clean " i didn't just sleep with my best friend on" pink sheets. But no. She needed to shower. She needed to shower now. She needed to wash away the guilt she felt crawling all over her skin, she could still smell him on her. She tiptoed into the shoebox apartment she shared with her two friends and crept into the bathroom. Once she was in the shower and the water was so hot she could barely stand it she began to scrub at her skin. What had they done? What had she done? Sleeping with Nik was just about the dumbest thing she could do. They worked together! She saw him everyday! He was her friend for Christ sakes! The person she spent most of her time with. It's not like she hadn't thought about it before. Nik was attractive, funny, and sweet, and sure they flirted around the office, but she had told herself she wouldn't let it go any further than that. Not after what happened in Boston. But she couldn't stop thinking about it. It had felt good. God had it felt good, and right. At the time it hadn't felt like a mistake at all.

Caroline climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. She avoided her own reflection in the mirror. Not wanting to have to face herself just yet. When she opened the bathroom door she almost collided with her two roommates.

"Jesus you almost gave me a heart attack." Caroline exclaimed. Holding her hand to her chest.

Elena and Bonnie were still in their pajamas, holding steaming cups of coffee and looking at their friend with all too knowing eyes.

" Someone had fun last night." Bonnie mocked.

" Shut up." Caroline muttered pushing past them and heading towards her room.

" Yeah and judging by the size of the hickey on her neck it was Caroline." Caroline gasped, turning around, her hand flying to her neck.

" No. No. No." Caroline rushed back into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Sure enough a large hickey was blossoming on her neck, and on closer inspection there was another on her collarbone.

Her roommates were leaning against the doorjamb of the bathroom looking far too smug for their own good.

" So who's the guy?" Bonnie probed taking another long sip of coffee.

" No one." Car insisted, trying to exit the bathroom but finding her passage block by her friends.

" It's probably the guy she's always baking for. She stopped with the cupcakes and finally gave up the cookie." Elena joked. Caroline's face drained of colour.

" Oh my god." Elena and Bonnie said in unison as Caroline pushed past them and made her way to her bedroom and slammed the door.

Caroline spent the rest of the day and all of sunday hiding out in her bedroom. Not looking out her window knowing that if she craned her neck just right she'd be able to see Klaus's building. Her roommates knocked on her door every few hours to check on her but she generally ignored them. Klaus had called . Twice, but she had ignored both of those calls too, and he hadn't left a voicemail.

The monday morning before work saw Caroline more anxious than she had been in her entire life. Despite the layers of makeup she still felt as if she could see her hickey poking out from beneath her freshly iron collared shirt. By the time she reached the lobby of the office building she could feel herself shaking slightly. She boarded the elevator alone and the doors began to slide shut. At least she would have the long ride to the 44th floor alone to clear her head. Just as the doors were about to slide completely closed a foot stopped it in its tracks. With a cheery ding, the doors slide open again and Klaus stood there in front of her, with two large coffees in his hand and a stupid cheerful grin on his face. He stepped in and handed Caroline one of the coffee's in his hand and stood casually next to her as the doors closed.

She could feel the sweat building on the back of her neck and tried to casually wipe it away not even thinking about the fact that she was smearing her makeup at the same time.

" That's a nasty bruise you've got there" Nik chuckled as he traced his fingers along the line of her neck. She felt her skin tingle where he had touched her. He pulled at the his already loose tie.

" Funnily enough i have a very similar one." He joked pulling down the the corner of his shirt to reveal the purple splotch on his collar bone.

" Oh and i have one more thing for you." He stated and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wadded up ball of lace. Caroline snatch her underwear out of his hand and stuffed them deep down into her bag. Her cheeks were on fire as he laughed easily, completely at ease with the situation.

"I considered flinging them back to you like a slingshot. But i thought if i over shot it they'd end up on Steve's desk and that would just be a whole other mess. I could try selling them to john, I'm sure he'd give me a fair price." He joked. Caroline couldn't help but laugh as she slapped Klaus's arm. Suddenly the air between them became serious and the joking manner dropped away from his voice.

" Care, about the other night."

" Look Nik, we were drunk and i don't want things to be weird between us. You're my best friend and i don't want things to change. Can't we just forget it?"

"We can" He stated as the doors dinged and slide open. Caroline moved forward to exit the elevator when Klaus caught her arm; his voice was quiet and soft when he spoke

"But what if I don't want to?"


	3. One drink

Chapter 3: One drink

Klaus had had a very different weekend. He hadn't woken up until nearly 11 on Saturday morning, but he did not escape the splitting head ache that came with drinking more than his fair share of tequila and god knows what else the night before. He rolled over onto his side and discovered that the other side of his bed was empty and the mattress cold. Caroline must have left hours ago, and he didn't blame her. Last night has escalated so quickly and they hadn't stopped to consider the consequences. There had always been an attraction between them, a spark. Their friendly flirting in the office had kept Klaus excited for work for months now. She was his best friend, but he had never allowed himself to want her, not until last night. All the romantic feelings he had been suppressing since they met had bubbled over, and he couldn't imagine a way to force them back down. He hadn't even realized how much of his emotions he was holding back until that moment under his desk. When their lips touched it was as if he were coming up for air for the first time in months. Their every touch felt like a weight was being lifted from his chest, as if he was suddenly weightless and could fly around the room if he deemed it a good idea.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. He didn't want to feel like this. He had told himself she was off limits a long time ago. But he didn't see a way to go back now. To undo what had been done. To stop all the feelings rushing through him to recede or disappear.

He was in trouble. Hell, he may even be in love. But that couldn't be. This was Caroline. His office buddy, the girl he brought coffee, the one who bought him his first cronut, his work wife, his best friend; but maybe she could be more?

He emerged from his bedroom and out into the bright light of the tiny living room where his roommate and brother Elijah was lounging on the couch. Elijah had only been living with Klaus for a few months and would be returning to the UK after Christmas as his traveler's visa was due to expire.

" Good party was it?" Elijah chuckled, sitting up slightly as he watched his brother shuffle across the living room towards the kitchen in desperate need of water.

"Not really." Klaus states casually trying to conceal the grin that was attempting to spread across his face.

"It sounded as if you were having a good time." Elijah said slyly, smirking into his cereal.

"Well the company was lovely."

"Who was it then?" Elijah pried, his eyes gleaming desperate for any spread of gossip.

"No one you know." Klaus insisted, reaching for a mug to pour him a cup of coffee.

"I'm your brother Nik, I've known you long enough to know when you're lying." Klaus rolled his eyes and attempted to ignore his brother.

" Was it the one you're always going on about? Carol or whatever her name was? The one who you go running around town buying dessert for?" Nik responded by chucking a plastic cup from his cabinet and throwing it artfully at his brother's head.

" So it was." Elijah smirked satisfied with himself.

" Do me a favor lijah, and shut up."

He called her twice over the weekend. Each time with no idea what he was going to say. She hadn't picked up either time, which was probably a good thing, he wouldn't have known how to say what he wanted to say. He would have ended up babbling on, about friendship and stars and fate and he would scare her off. If he hadn't already.

He had woken up on monday morning with a plan. He'd be casual. play it off as no big deal, just another thing for them to joke about. He hadn't been able to keep that act up for more than half an elevator ride. He had had to ask her. To know what she was thinking.

She said she wanted to forget about about it, laugh it off and move on, but he could see her real words written on her face as she began to build walls around herself. This wasn't over.

They'd gone about their days as they usually did. But Klaus took notice that Caroline would rarely meet his eye when they spoke. They had eaten lunch across from each other in the breakroom as they usually did, swapping half of whatever they were eating with the other and while they chatted lightly as they always did, Caroline's eyes were glued to her chinese chicken salad and half of a panini. It was near the end of the day when Klaus stood up from his desk and leaned against the divide between himself and Caroline. Her eyes remained transfixed on her Computer screen as he spoke.

" Let's get a drink tonight." This was not an uncommon thing for them. After a particularly hard day they may head to one of the many bars nearby and vent to each other freely over mugs of beer and greasy pub food. He watched her stiffen as she responded.

" It's a monday." She protested typing furiously away at her keyboard.

" Come on Care, it's the holidays!"

"No it is not. It is December 6th. We had a ridiculously early christmas party because it's impossible to get a caterer this time of year." Her voice and the way she spoke to him was the same, but he could sense the tension in her, the uncertainty of how to proceed.

" Besides" She continued, " Isn't your brother heading back to England in a few weeks? Shouldn't you be soaking up all the family time you can get?"

" He's the reason i need a drink. He's driving me up the wall, i don't know if i'll make it to christmas at this rate." Caroline laughed.

" Still drinking directly from the milk carton?" She asked trying to conceal the grim that was spreading across her face.

"It's getting worse. I keep finding his socks everywhere, and i swear that last night he used my toothbrush." She finally looked up to meet his gaze.

" One drink." She countered. Klaus smiled.

They headed out together straight after work and ended up at a spot they had become fairly regular at. It was a small irish pub, squashed between a upscale steakhouse and a large bank. It was packed with group who like them had just gotten off work. They sat down at the long dark oak bar and settled in.

" What are you drinking?" Klaus asked as Caroline signaled the bartender.

" Not tequila." Caroline stated without thinking. Her face turned bright scarlet and she suddenly seemed very interested in her shoes.

" No, i'd say we're better off steering clear of the stuff for a while. I haven't been that hungover since college." Caroline laughed raising her hand to her temple as if she could still feel the headache.

" Although, i'd say the reward outweighed the risks." Her eye's widened as if she had just received a great shock. She could deal with jokes, poking fun, if Nik wasn't willing to drop the whole situation entirely. She felt as if she was about to burst into flames, she could feel his eyes on her the way she had felt his hands only nights before.

He kept speaking as if he had not said anything out of place. Going on to talk about his slob of a brother and his sister's constant long distance calls to his phone. She nodded along and spoke at all the right times, but all she could think about was reaching out to touch him, about what it would feel like if she grabbed the hand he had rested against the bar. God what was wrong with her. She needed to pull herself together and fast, before she got herself in any more trouble.

They rode the subway home to the same stop, joking and talking and for a moment caroline was able to pretend as if nothing had changed. When they emerged back onto the street Nik turned to her to say goodbye.

He pulled her to him in a hug as he always did when they parted, and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, which again was not out of the ordinary, but as he walked away and she turned to enter her building, she could still feel the place where his lips had touched her skin, and her heart was beating harder than ever.


	4. Christmas for two

Chapter 4: Christmas for two

" What do you mean you aren't going home for christmas? You've had your ticket for months!" It was the 15th of december and Caroline and Klaus were in a god awful sports bar in midtown with a collection of beers in front of them. The bar was jam packed with loud and rowdy sports fans, and the air smelt strongly of miller light and b o, but the bar had the best chicken wings they had found so far in the city, so they stuck it out . The awkwardness between them had subsided over the past weeks and their friendship was back in full swing.

" Oh don't give me that tone Care it's not like you're going home either!" Klaus snapped back lifting his beer bottle to his lips.

" That's completely different! My mother is going on a cruise and my dad is spending it with his boyfriend. I don't want to spend Christmas the way i spent thanksgiving, waking up to the sound of them going at it." Nik groaned letting his head fall to his hand before rising up again to defend himself.

" Well i'm not keen on seeing my family either. After the fight i had with my father, i don't think i'd even be welcome at home." Caroline felt a lump rise in her throat.

" Does he still want you to move back?" Caroline asked already knowing the answer.

" He'll never be okay with me being here. He threatened to disown me if i didn't go to University in England, so i did it, because i needed his money for my tuition. After i graduated and i decided i didn't want to let what he wanted hold me back, i applied to every publishing firm in new york, i got my work visa, and used the money my grandmother left me to move here, and he's never forgiven me for it."

"Was that what you were fighting about last night? Moving home?" Klaus took another swig of his beer and continued to speak.

" That and he blames for Elijah. He went back home last week and ran his mouth about how after seeing how well i'm doing here he want to move to New York as well, so in my father's eyes im plotting against him to tear his family apart." Care signaled the bartender for another round and stood up. She grabbed Nik shoulders and twisted him on his stool so he was facing her.

" No more sad talk." She stated, taking the beers from the bartender and forcing one into Klaus's hand.

" So what? We, like thousands of other people in this city have no christmas plans. But that does not mean that we should sit in a corner and feel sorry for ourselves. So we'll drink these beers, walk over to that dart board, and have a nice enjoyable evening. And tomorrow, we will make our christmas plans. Together."

The next morning was a sunday, and Caroline woke up around eight, sat up in bed and stretched. She puttered around her apartment for a few hours while her friends slept heavily in their rooms. A few hours later she left her apartment to met Klaus for lunch to decide how they would spend their time off over christmas. Caroline hadn't told her friends where she was going out of fear that they would taunt her more about Klaus. Ever since they had caught her the morning after the christmas party they had been teasing her relentlessly about him. No matter how many times she insisted that they were just friends and it was a one time thing, they still made jabs at her every chance they got.

By the time the 24th rolled around Klaus and Caroline had their entire christmas together planned out. They'd sent emails back and forth from their desks, while pretending to work, comparing wine preferences and if it was impractical to buy an entire turkey for just the two of them. They left work early and together that evening and decided to take a walk through the city. They walked arm in arm as the snowflakes fell around them, as they pretended to be tourists in the city they had called home for years. Despite it being christmas eve there were still countless people out on the streets, and they enjoyed blending in with them and listening to the mixture of christmas music, loud voices and and jingling bells of volunteer workers.

By the time they made it back to Klaus apartment it was nearly six o'clock. Although Caroline's roommates had gone home for the holidays as well they chose to spend their time at Klaus's place as his kitchen was far larger than her own. They laughed together as they drank large glasses of red wine and peeling potatoes and whisked ingredients together.

" It's an orphan's christmas!" Caroline announced as placed their heaping dinner plates on the coffee table in front of the couch they were sat on.

" Far better than sitting around an awkwardly silent dinner table as my mother tries to force small talk , and i try to avoiding eye contact with my father." Caroline patted his knee and poured another helping of red wine into his nearly empty glass.

" I could force some awkward small talk if it would make you feel more at home." Caroline offered, eliciting a laugh from Klaus.

" A very generous offer Care, but i think i'll pass this time. So far you are doing a very good impression of my mother's wine induced stupor." Caroline nudged him hard in the ribs with her elbow.

" Well unless you start dressing in pastels, and hitting on the mid age man down the hall then you're a long way from being anything like my dad."

" Well i have always looked good in baby pink." It took all of Caroline's strength to stop herself from laughing so hard that she would spit red wine all over Niks apartment. They ate cold huckleberry pie and drank cider while watching every christmas movie they could find on the tv. It was nearly midnight and the window sill was filling up with snow. Klaus and Caroline were wrapped up in a large blanket, the room only lite with the blue light of the tv. Caroline was curled up with her feet pressed against her legs, her head resting against Klaus chest and her eyes almost closed. Niks arm was wrapped securely around her with his hand resting on her hip.

"Caroline?"

" Hmm?"

" I think it's time to turn in." Caroline snuggled deeper into his chest.

" I'm not tired" she whispered. Her voice quiet and muffled.

" If you don't go to sleep santa won't bring you any presents." he countered, but it was no use. She was already asleep. Klaus smiled down at her, and placed a small peck to her forehead before lifting her as gently as possible and carrying her to bed.


	5. 3 2 1

Chapter five: 3. 2. 1

Klaus woke up early on christmas morning and climbed out of bed carefully as not to awaken Caroline. He had passed out moments after he had brought caroline to bed. Waking up it was hard not to remember the last time they had been in that bed together, but Klaus pushed those thoughts from his mind as quickly as they came. He had feelings for Caroline but he couldn't risk losing their friendship because of them.

He headed out into the kitchen and ducked into the nearly empty den that Elijah had been using as a bedroom. The only things left in that room were the boxes of things that Klaus had no place for and the deflated air mattress that his brother had been sleeping on. In the corner behind one of the boxes was the bag of messily wrapped christmas gifts that he planned on exchanging with Caroline. It was all part of their orphaned christmas plans, they had decided on a list of themed gifts, and a budget. Klaus was sure that Caroline's gifts would be far more artfully wrapped than his own. He brought the bag into the living room and began strategically placing his gifts around the tiny synthetic charlie brown christmas tree they had found at a salvation army in the village. He had just finished putting all his gifts down when he heard the bedroom door crack open. He whipped around and raised his hands to catch the soft item that had just hit his chest.

Caroline was standing in the bedroom doorway wearing a fuzzy button up pajama set with a pattern of christmas trees and reindeer.

" Present number 1. Put them on!" She demanded gesturing to his own festive pajama set that she had just chucked at them. She sauntered over the couch and plopped herself down.

" I wanted us to put them on last night but i completely space. I guess i got a little too into my impression of your mother." Klaus snorted with laughter. By the time he had finished putting on his pajamas Caroline had also placed all her gifts under, or more precisely around, the tiny tree.

They sat on the floor like children, ripping off wrapping paper and laughing at the ridiculous gifts they were given. They exchanged novelty mugs, and thrift store band t shirts. As per their agreement they each gifted the other their favorite book, and dvd copies of the movies they were too ashamed of to admit to love.

The rest of the day passed by peacefully, they ate leftover for breakfast and snacked on the sugar cookies that Caroline had baked a few days previously for lunch. They ventured outside for dinner, hauling their asses across the city for their favourite chinese food restaurant. It was late by the time Caroline made it back to her apartment, her stomach full from dinner and her arms heavy with her christmas gifts. Her apartment was quiet and still when she opened the door. Elena was spending christmas with her aunt and uncle and Bonnie was with her father in Virginia.

She placed all her new gifts on the chair in her room and climbed into her bed. Pulling the covers up around her she looked back on her day and admired how wonderful it had been. Being around Klaus was so easy and carefree, and as she drifted to sleep she wondered if that's why people always said that you should marry your bestfriend.

Caroline paced around her apartment on boxing day, thankful that her roommates weren't around to make fun of her. She could not get Nik out of her head. This was bad. This was a problem. She had thought that they were back to normal, and maybe he was, but she certainly wasn't. Her head was screaming at her to let it go. She couldn't afford to ruin this job, and she couldn't afford to relocate cities again. She had made so many mistakes in Boston, not all of them her own fault, but she wasn't willing to repeat any of them here. Yet her heart was against her.

She wanted to tell herself that if somehow she did end up with Nik it would be different. She wouldn't be doomed to repeat her past. Nik was her friend, but did that make things better? or worse? Better because she knew that he would never hurt her, at least not on purpose. Worse ast. because if this didn't work out, she would lose more than just a pleasant work environment.

She went to work over the next few days and pretended that everything was normal but inside she was at complete war with herself. Everytime she looked up at Nik she could feel her stomach begin to flip and flutter, like she was sixteen again. She needed to snap out of it, and fast. Klaus didn't even feel that way about her. Or did he? What he said in the elevator rung in her ears over and over again. _What if i don't want to ?_ He didn't want to forget what had happened at the christmas party.Did that mean he had feeling for her? Or was she just reading too much into this? She was barely sleeping at night. All she could do was stare at the ceiling of her bedroom and run through everything Nik had said to her that day. She had it bad.

New Years Eve was always a massive disappointment to Caroline. No matter the party she went to or the people she was with it always felt as if people were try forcing themselves to have some amazing time rather than actually enjoying the evening.

" Oh you're not getting out of this." Nik stated after Caroline expressed her wish to stay home on the 31st.

" You dragged me to that Christmas party. So i am going to drag you new years, and that's that." Caroline rolled her eyes and groaned.

" You can whine as much as you want. But you're doing it and that's that. I'll meet you in your lobby and 8, and we can go out first and turn up to the party suitably and drunk and then maybe we won't have to pretend to enjoy ourselves."

So there she was in the lobby of her apartment on new year's eve, resenting her tight dress and tall heels and wishing she was back upstairs eating leftover noodles and watching ryan seacrest freeze his ass off in times square.

She was over most of her bitterness by the time they had hit a few bars and finally made it to Damon Salvatore's apartment building. Although Damon was technically one of their bosses, he was also Caroline's roommate Elena's technical kind of, maybe, could be boyfriend. As soon as the elevator opened and revealed the penthouse before them, Caroline felt a body slam into her.

" I'm so glad you're here!" Elena shirked in Caroline's ear , tottering on her heels and spilling a bit her drink on the floor beside them.r

" Woah there! Jesus Elena it's barely 10, at this rate you'll be long asleep before midnight." Her face fell a little bit.

" I know. I'm sorry." she slurred before continuing on.

" I'm just nervous. All of Damon's friends are here, and his brother, and this apartment is huge, and it's only gonna be a matter of time before he figures out that i do not belong here and he'll ship me back to Virginia in a wooden crate." Elena strung together all the words in one big breath and the downed the remainder of the champagne in her glass.

" Just breathe!" Caroline said, grabbing hold of her upper arms and steadying her.

" You're gonna be fine. Just get a glass of water and pull yourself together. You look great, and you fit in fine." After a few more minutes of counseling Elena, Klaus and Caroline joined the party. Elena had been right, the apartment was massive, and the floor to ceiling windows held a beautiful view of the new york skyline.

The apartment was packed with people, clinking champagne glasses and laughing loudly. Caroline noticed Elena across the room, she looked a little more sure of herself, talking happily with a group of people with Damon's arm around her shoulders.

Midnight was fast approaching and Caroline was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't having a completely awful time. Sure the room was hot and full of people, and the music was load and you could barely hear the person next to you, but it was New years and that was to be expected.

Caroline felt light and warm, the champagne glass in her hand had been refilled many times that night, and she tried not to think about the last time she got too drunk at a party. The clock was ticking down the seconds to the new year and although she hadn't seen Klaus in nearly thirty minutes she somehow found herself by his side as the countdown began. A thought suddenly arose in Caroline head. It was new year's eve. People kissed at midnight on new year's eve. She was beside Klaus. They could kiss. It wouldn't be a big deal. Friends kissed on new years all the time. Maybe that would put her feelings for him to bed. If they could kiss, maybe she wouldn't feel anything and they could go back to being friends. And if she felt something, really felt something then she would know once and for all what she needed to do next.

10 seconds left. People were buzzing with excitement.

8 seconds, Klaus looked down at her, a smile on his face.

5 seconds, She turned to him grabbing his shoulders and twisting his body to face her. She leaned into him, and in that moment he knew what she was about to do and his grin grew wider, and they both moved closer.

4 seconds. This was going to happen. His lips were so close to her's that if either of them so much as took a breath they would be kissing.

3\. 2. 1.


	6. Boston

Chapter 6: What happened in Boston

3 . 2. 1. The room exploded as the new year began, but all Caroline could think about was the feeling of Klaus's lips on her own. It wasn't a long kiss. It was a simple kiss that could have just been between friends, but the fireworks going off in her head were very similar the the massive explosions going on outside the window. They broke apart while still staying close together, their mouths only inches apart.

" Happy new year" Klaus whispered just loud enough for Caroline to hear it.

" Yeah." she whispered back. " Happy new year" .she couldn't seem to catch her breath. All her thoughts were swirling around her head and she couldn't concentrate. She thought that a kiss would clarify her feelings for Klaus but she was more confused than ever. She definitely had feelings for Nik, strong feelings, but if she went down this road again, things could get ugly. Not that Klaus was anything like… him. But they worked together and if things went sideways, well she didn't want to go through that again.

"Caroline i, Caroline are you okay?" All the blood had drained from her face and her breathing still hadn't returned to normal. The room was too hot, and she wasn't sure if it was the champagne or something else, but the room was hazy and spinning. She was hyperventilating, and no matter how many times she told herself to calm down or just breathe she couldn't make herself relax.

Klaus steered her out of the party and into the elevator. By the time they reached the lobby tears were pouring down Caroline's face. The fresh air that hit her face once they stepped onto the street sent another shock to her system. The ice cold air she sucked in stung her lungs, and caused her body to shake even more.

Their apartments weren't too far away and Klaus thought it might be good for Caroline to get some more fresh air. By the time they had reached his apartment building, her breathing had returned mostly to normal, and her tears had become silent, but with his arm around her shoulder he could feel that she was still shaking. He didn't know if it was from the cold or whatever else was affecting her. He lead her into his apartment building and up to his apartment. He steered her towards the couch and sat her down. He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass.

" What's this" she choked out and she took the glass from him.

" You always drink ginger ale when you're anxious." She drank the glass slowly and quietly staring at the floor to avoid eye contact with him.

" You're still shaking." Klaus stated, pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapping it around her shoulders.

" Are you okay?" Nik asked nervously.

" I, um"

" You don't have to answer Care. We can talk about it tomorrow, or not if you don't want to."

Klaus let Caroline have his bedroom that night, and slept on the couch. He didn't know what was going on with her, but if it had something to do with him he didn't want to make her feel any worse.

When he woke up the next morning caroline was sitting in the chair across from the couch. She was curled up with a mug of coffee in her hand, watching him hesitantly.

" morning." she said quietly.

"Care."

" I'm sorry. About last night, i don't really know what happened." Klaus sat up and looked at her hesitantly.

" Don't be sorry, I just wanna that you're okay." Caroline let out a large breath.

" I'm fine. Now. Thank you."

" Do you want to talk about-" but she cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

" I never told you way i left boston. Why i moved here and left my publishing house." He nodded his head, encouraging her to go on.

" I haven't really told anyone about it. You know for a while i was ashamed, because i ran away." he was confused but rather than ask question he allowed her to continue. he feared that if he interrupted her she would never finish her story.

" I started working at Petrova right out of university, I moved to boston without knowing a single person in city. I grew up in west Virginia in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and you can trust anybody you meet on the street. The only people i knew in Boston were the people i worked with. They sort of became my whole world. Then one day, i started seeing someone from the office. I didn't really know him when he asked me out, but i thought i'd take a chance on it. Things were fine at first. Good even, we dated for months before things started going downhill, but he got possessive, and jealous. He wanted to go through my phone, he'd call me in the middle of the night just to make sure i was home. So i ended it, but it didn't stop there. We worked together, so i'd see him everyday at the office, he knew where i lived and he'd show up at my apartment all the time. I didn't have a way to get away from him because he was there in every part of my life. All my friends were from the office so they were his friends too, he'd go to same parties and dinners, i couldn't get away from him. None of my friends understood, they only saw the person he was in front of him and not who he really was. Things started getting scary, and i had to leave."

Her voice was thick with the tears that were rolling down her face.

" and i'm telling you all this because i don't know what to do. I've been tearing myself up about it since the other week, since the christmas party. and last night i thought that if i just kiss you i could put to rest all these feelings i've been having, because what we have, our friendship is the best thing i have in my life, and i'm afraid that if we change something that after a while everything will fall apart, and i'll ruin my whole life all over again." Close moved forward on the couch and reached out to take Caroline's hands in his own.

"I'm so sorry Caroline." His heart was racing a mile a minute. Everything that Caroline had said was racing through his mind. All that caroline had said about her life in boston, and all that she had confessed about her feelings towards him.

" I shouldn't even be telling you this. I'm messing up everything. I thought all i wanted was for us to go back normal, and we were but i can't get you out of my head, but i can't make the same mistakes all over again."

" I know you've been hurt before, but i don't think we'd be a mistake." Caroline swallowed the lump in her throat.

" Caroline, you're my best friend and i would never do anything to hurt you, and i would hope that you know that you can trust me, because i think that i could be in love with you." Caroline squeezed her eyes shut and let out large breath.

" I want to trust you-"

" and you can" he reassured her, squeezing her hands in his.

" If we try this, you have to promise me, that no matter what happens between us, you'll at least try to always be my friend." Klaus smiled to himself before looking up into Caroline's eyes.

" There will never be a day in my life where you aren't my best friend."

" i'm glad, because i think that i could be in love with you too."


	7. New Year, New Us

Chapter 7: New Year, New Us

Caroline returned to her apartment around 11 o'clock that morning. It was a very different walk to her building from his then she had taken a few weeks ago. Of course it had been a very different night, and at least she remembered all of this one.

Despite herself she let out a laugh as she walked down the street. Several people looked around at her but in the moment she didn't care. She knew she must have looked crazy, walking down the street in last night's dress, laughing to herself, wearing a black down winter jacket and the big clunky gum boots Nik had wrestled out of the back of his closet. She carried her heels from the previous evening in her hand, and despite all the odd looks she was receiving from her passers by, she didn't care. New year's had definitely not gone as expected for Caroline. She definitely hadn't planned on kissing Klaus, or having a panic attack immediately afterwards. She couldn't believe everything she had said to Klaus that morning and all that had come from it.

Walking down the street she felt lighter somehow. Before this morning there was only one other person in the city who had even the slightest idea what had happened in massachusetts was her roommate Elena. Caroline had worked with Elena's twins sister Katherine at Petrova Publishing, and when she had confided in Kat about needed to leave the city, katherine had mentioned her sister in new york who was looking for a new roommate. Elena knew that Caroline had moved to the city in a hurry, and that she had had a bad experience in boston. Caroline hadn't spoken to anyone about what had happened in Boston. She had told her parents that she had moved to new york because she needed a change, and that Boston just wasn't a good fit.

Klaus was the only one that knew the truth, and he didn't even have the whole story. She had wanted to tell him everything, but she didn't think she could stand if he started looking at her like she was some sort of fragile broken doll. Before she went out to talk to him in the living room that morning she had beat herself up about falling apart in front of him the night before. She had told herself since moving to new york that she could never appear weak or vulnerable, that if she acted calm and confident again the way she had when she first moved to Boston she would eventually feel that way once more. After sitting on Nik's bed for several minutes inwardly cursing herself she pulled herself together. If she was going to fall apart in front of someone Klaus was the best person for it. Caroline had made plenty of friends in her life, but she had never been extremely close to someone, not enough to call them her best friend. Nik was the person that she had confided about everything else in her life with, and it had been time for her to come clean about her past.

The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she could think them through. She couldn't bring herself to look into Nik's eyes while she spoke, but could sense how tense he was sitting across from her. Caroline's breath had caught when Nik reached across and took her hands in his own, and the rest fell into place.

Caroline unlocked the door to her apartment and quietly slipped into her room, hoping Elena wouldn't hear her come in and get together with bonnie to get on her case again. She didn't know how to break it to her roommates that there actually was something going on with Nik after having denying it for weeks. Not that she really knew what was going on with Nik. Sure they had somewhat clarified their feelings but there was a difference between saying that you have the ability to be in love with someone and deciding to be in a committed adult relationship.

Caroline had tried to leave in a bit of a hurry after their conversation. She had insisted that she needed to get going and Klaus had sprung into action. At first he had tried to insist on walking her home, but she had shoved his arm and tried to pull her heels back on. Klaus scoffed at her.

"Are you planning to make it back to your apartment with all ten toes?" He asked as he disappeared into his den. Caroline rolled her eyes to herself, before replying sarcastically.

" Yes, i'm sure fast acting frostbite will set in by the time i walk the whole half a block to my apartment." Caroline could hear Klaus rummaging around in the spare room and was about to get up and see what the hell he was doing when he emerged with a grin on his face and the heavy rain boots in his hand. Caroline couldn't help but laugh.

"What are those?" Caroline's shoulders shook as she tried to contain her amusement.

" Rain boots! I used to use them when my father would take my brothers and i duck hunting in Scotland." He explained, amused at Carolines amusement.

" So naturally you brought them with you to New York. For all the duck hunting you do here."

" Look do you want them or not?"

" No not really." She stated, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice.

" Well too bad!" she put her arms out to catch them as he chucked the boots at her.

" Now where's your coat?" After checking the weather on his phone and seeing that the temperature was thirty below, Klaus had tried to convince her to wear a pair of his sweatpants over her dress. He had been rather frustrated as she continued to refuse, laughing all the while.

"Nik!" she placed both her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes, unable to keep the grin from laughing off her face.

" If i succumb to the cold on my way home, feel free to say i told you so at my funeral and dance on my grave." Klaus cracked a smile, jokingly rolling his eyes at her.

Once caroline was at least somewhat dressed for the weather, it was time to make the long trek home. She had originally been in such a hurry to get back to her apartment in fear that those moments after their conversation would be awkward, but it was like any other time she had spent with Klaus before, easy.

He walked her the few steps to his door, and as she stepped out the door Klaus turned to her and pressed a kiss to her lips. It was a simple goodbye, nothing fancy, as if they had done it a thousand times before, but at the same time as if he had been waiting his whole life just to press his lips to hers.


	8. Everything has changed

Chapter 8: Everything had changed

( A short chapter again but i really wanted to get something out. I plan on publishing a much larger chapter tomorrow!)

It had been silent in Caroline apartment for nearly an hour, so she decided it was safe to venture out into the common space of her apartment that she shared with her friends. After Caroline got back to her apartment and had snuck back into her room she had returned to bed and dozed for the rest of the morning. By the time she was really conscious she realized just how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything this early the previous evening, and was now regretting not taking Klaus up on his offer for breakfast. She had changed into her old university sweatshirt and pajama pants and thrown her hair into a messy bun.

She headed out into the kitchen with her heart set on a massive mug of coffee and her leftover pad thai from lunch yesterday. Just as lit the burner on the stove and placed the kettle on top of it she heard her roommate's door crack open. She spun around expecting to see Elena emerging from her room, but to her surprise she saw Damon, her boss coming out of her friend's bedroom.

Damon seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

" Hey caroline…" he was inching towards the door as if he was the one who should me nervous.

" I'll see you on monday." He was out the door before she could say a word.

" Elena?" she called hesitantly, staring at the door. Elena peak out of her room looking guilty.

Caroline raised her eyebrows at. Elena, looking at her knowingly.

"He walked me home last night, and it was late and icy out so he just crashed here." she stated defending herself.

" It's after noon, and he just left?" Elena continued to look at the floor, but she couldn't keep the hint of smirk off her face, then suddenly her head shot up to look at Caroline her eye's full of fear.

"Please tell me you didn't hear anything last night. I'm so stupid i knew you left early! But you were sleeping right? We didn't wake you up?" She was in a bit of a panic and Caroline couldn't help but

" Len calm down. First of all i didn't even get home until this morning, but thank you for letting me know how loud you are, which is something i'm never going to get out of my head." Elena rolled her eyes.

" Oh haha," she said Elena's eyes narrowed as she fully took in what Care had said.

" What do you mean you just got home this morning? I saw you leave! Literally seventeen seconds after midnight." Caroline turned away from her roommate to hide her face and pretended to fiddle with the kettle.

" I mean i didn't come straight home from the party last night. I stayed over… a Nik's." When Caroline turned back around to face her roommate Elena smirking at her.

" What?" Caroline asked in as innocent a tone she could muster.

" Don't play dumb Caroline. If you're going to stand there and pretend there's nothing going on between you, then i'm going to have to sit down because i'm getting pretty tired of you lying through your teeth." Though Elena's tone was joking Caroline knew there was some truth to her words.

" Maybe we're becoming something. I don't know what, but i can't say we're just friends anymore." Elena smiled broadly.

" It's about time you caught up! Because it's been clear to me that you've been more then friends for a few weeks now."

With no work the next day and no errands to run, Klaus and Caroline decided to meet for lunch. This wasn't an uncommon thing. They often caught lunch together outside of work, but for Caroline this felt different. As she got ready to meet Klaus she felt herself lingering on her reflection in the mirror. She never would have thought about what she looked like when meeting up with Klaus before.

They went for Sushi at a place they had been a million times, they shared entrees and laughed too loudly as they always did, but when their feet would brush under the table they didn't immediately pull away. When the cheque arrived caroline immediately reached for it, but her hand was swatted away. They often treated each other to meals, but Caroline knew it was her turn to pick up the bill.

"Nik! You paid for drinks on new years. This one's mine" She put out her hand, but Klaus didn't relinquish the slip of paper.

" That may be so, but technically this is our first official date and call me old fashion but i'd like to pay." Caroline narrowed her eyes and joked with him.

" Date? I don't recall being asked?" Klaus smirked, looked down and signed the cheque. As they walked down the street Caroline felt Klaus's hand brush against hers, and in the next moment their fingers intertwined, and caroline could feel her heart beat in her throat.

The snow that had been falling was slowly turning to rain and the new almost couple decided to take shelter in Klaus's apartment. Nik was sitting on his couch flipping through the channels on his television. Caroline in the bathroom washing any germs from the city off her hands with the door open staring at herself in the mirror once again having an inward debate with herself

" What do you think love? Should we watch the last forty minutes of superbad, or the same episode of friends we've seen a million time." Caroline walked out of the bathroom and purposefully over to Klaus. She sat down on the couch on her knees facing Klaus. Nik twisted his body to look at her looking amused and wrapping his arm around the back of the couch.

" I sense that you have something to say. So you've got the floor, spit it out."

" Do you think things are going to change? With us i mean?" Though Klaus still had an amused look on his face he could sense how tense Caroline was.

" Only in good ways. That now i can hold your hand and.." he moved closer to her on the couch, but she looked and her hands unsure and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Care." Klaus reached over this his other hand and rested it on top of Caroline's.

"I already promised you that one thing wouldn't change, and that's all that matters." Caroline smiled smally and leaned into Klaus's chest as he wrapped his arm around Caroline and pulled her closer.


	9. Past to Present

Chapter 9: Past to present

January melted away into February before anyone in New York could notice. More rain fell than usual that year then either of them had ever experienced in the city. Although Caroline had made fun of them at first she often found herself trekking back and forth between Klaus's apartment and her own in the big clunky gum boots Klaus had lent her on the first day of January. The boots were several sizes too big and in order not to trip over herself while wearing them she often dawned at least three pairs of socks.

Although it had been just over a month since Klaus and Caroline had become " something" they had never clarified the label of their relationship. It was an awkward conversation that Caroline was trying to avoid having at all costs. She was aware how immature that mindset was. They weren't in highschool, they should be able to have an adult conversation, yet she shied away from it whenever it seemed like the topic was going to come up. So what if they hadn't put it out in the air that they were in an exclusive relationship, but Caroline was fairly sure that Klaus wasn't seeing anyone else. Work had been hectic lately and monday to friday they rarely left the office before nine. They may grab drinks or a late dinner afterwards but often they would just ride the subway home together and Klaus would walk Caroline to her building's door and bid her goodnight. In typical teenager fashion they could often be found texting into the night until one of them would fall asleep. With how much work they had been doing lately they were both often far too tired to go out on friday nights. As per usual Caroline spent saturday morning running her errands, doing her laundry, and cleaning up her mess of an apartment. By late afternoon Caroline was making her way over to Nik's apartment. To avoid the rain they generally hung around in his apartment and ordered in, eating from take out boxes in the pajamas on his beat up leather couch. Sundays were a late start to lazy and long days. Caroline couldn't really see where Klaus would have time to be seeing anyone else.

Klaus woke up before Caroline on one of their lazy sunday mornings. Light was just beginning to sneak through the gap in his long curtains. He turned onto his side and towards Caroline. She was laying on her side facing away from him with her light blonde hair over her shoulder.

" I can feel you staring at me you know" Caroline muttered sleepily. Klaus smiled to himself, reaching out his arm and pulling her against his chest, wrapping his arm around her waist.

" and you have a problem with that?" he asked quietly his lips close to her ear.

" It's a little creepy don't you think?" she asked jokingly, leaning back against him. Klaus rolled his eyes and nuzzled his face into her neck.

" Whatever you say." He muttered against her skin and closing his eyes, enjoying the feeling of their skin pressed together.

" Coffee." She stated trying to move away from him and out of bed.

" Oh no you don't." Klaus wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and pulled her on top of him so her back was against his chest. She laughed letting out a small squeal. She wiggled in his arms until she was able to turn herself so she was facing him with her knees on either side of his hips. Klaus sat up with each of his hands on her lower back.

" Where do you think you're going?" he asked against her neck with his lips pressed into her skin. Caroline signed, half in exasperation and laughed a little to herself.

"To make breakfast" but even as she said she was intertwining her finger behind his neck.

" Later." He stated tracing his lips up her neck and jawbone and finally her lips.

… _.._

" Are we becoming those people?" Caroline asked. It was later that morning and the two were standing arm in arm in line to be seated for brunch at Simit +Smith on the upper west. Klaus glanced down at her confused.

" You know! The sunday brunch, bed and breakfasts in vermont, do the crossword together people." Klaus laughed.

" You mean like a couple?" Caroline rolled her eyes.

" A stereotypical couple. The kind that fill the pages of almost every manuscript that goes through the romance section at the office." He smirked.

" Those do sell exceptionally well." She jabbed him lightly in the ribs with her elbow.

" I'm serious. Do you think we're just going to transform into these predictable boring people?"

" Well if you want to keep things exciting we could always start doing it in the copy room at work." Caroline gasped, shoving Klaus away but she couldn't help but laugh.

…

While Elena had mostly laid off ribbing Caroline about Klaus, Bonnie was still in full swing. She hadn't been able to keep herself from letting out a triumphant ha when caroline finally let it slip out to her that she and Nik were " dating.. or something". Elena had rolled her eyes at her other roommate,

" Catch up Bon, that's so last year!" Caroline laughed thinking of the convenient timing of her and Niks start date.

" Jesus what else did i miss when i went back home?"

" Well" Caroline began. Elena who was in the kitchen chopping up carrots in the kitchen looked up, her eye's full of fire and pointed the knife at her friend.

" Caroline i swear to god"

" Elena and her male suitor…" Bonnie wiped around on the couch to stare at Elena.

" Caroline!" she smirked up at her friend.

" Damon?" Bonnie asked scandalized. Elena had kept her relationship extremely quiet lately. Elena had ended her relationship with her college boyfriend of four years only six months previously and wasn't ready to jump into another relationship, however what Caroline had seen and heard from Elena, Damon was all in. Though she knew that she didn't want to admit it, Caroline could tell that Elena was falling fast.

" I thought you said nothing was going on with you two?" Bonnie asked waiting eagerly for the details.

" Nothing was happening! We were very casual, and then new years happened and"

" Wait! This has been going on for a month?" trying to throw the guilt off of herself elena jumped in with

" So have Klaus and Caroline!" Care sunk lower in her seat as Bonnie twisted around in her seat to look at her again.

" Does no one tell me anything around here!" Bonnie exclaimed looking between her two friends. Elena and Caroline shared an awkward glance. A look of realization spread across Bonnie's face and she turned to Elena again.

" You haven't been going to late night yoga classes have you?"

… _.._

Later that week on friday, Klaus and Caroline were at their own desks in the office. It was nearly quitting time and Klaus couldn't help but glance at the clock every thirty five seconds. He and caroline had late night reservations and he was absolutely starving. Ten minutes before they were about to wrap up for the night when Caroline could see from the corner of her eye that someone was approaching her desk. She glanced up and saw John Jerkins walking up to her desk with purpose.

" Hello Caroline." She blinked and glanced over at Klaus who was peeking over his cubicle wall looking amused.

" Um, hey John. What's up?" He ran his hair through his non existent hair and stretched letting his hint of a beer belly show.

" I think we should have dinner. Next week. Together." Klaus was now biting his knuckle to keep from laughing as he watching this awkward exchange. Caroline let out the smallest of uncomfortable laughs.

" That's really sweet john, but uh, i'm actually seeing someone right now." After a few more awkwardly exchanged words, John walked away and Caroline collapsed with her arms and head on her desk trying to conceal her laughter.

When she looked up, Klaus had walked over and was sitting on the edge of her desk.

" So you're seeing someone?" he asked a smirk still plastered on his face. Caroline pulled herself together and sat up straight trying to seem composed.

" In fact i am, but no one you'd know." She twisted back to look at her computer screen and Klaus scooted closer to her on her desk.

" and this guy you're seeing, well this man you're seeing.." Caroline glanced at back at him over her shoulder.

"Would you consider him your boyfriend?" Caroline felt her stomach turn over.

" I'd consider it."

… _.._

99.9% of the time Caroline and Klaus hung out at his apartment. It was the logical move, Nik lived alone while Care had two very loud and nosy roommates. That night was different. It was two weeks after Klaus had sort of kind of made their relationship official, and in a once in a blue moon type of deal both Bonnie and Elena were out for the whole night.

" This is new." Klaus said as he walked into Caroline's apartment.

" I don't think i've ever been in your apartment before." Caroline laughed lightly as she locked the door behind him.

" Well it's not generally this clean, or this quiet." Klaus grinned as sat down on caroline's couch and opened his arms for her to sit. They had made it through several episodes of trashy television when they decided it was time to eat.

" an hour and forty five minutes for delivery?" Caroline asked in shock. They had their hearts set on a thai place nearby but apparently it was a popular option that night.

" I can go pick it up." Klaus offered attempting to get to his feet, But Caroline pulled him back down.

" You don't have to, we can just get something else." Klaus turned to her smirking knowingly.

" Care you've been talking about this thai food all, i can just go."

" Well then let me come with you." She tried to stand and take his hand but he backed away.

" It's raining. Dumping in fact, and there's only one pair of boots." Caroline sighed and sat back down.

" Thank you." she said resigned.

"Take the keys on the table, and you can buzz yourself into the building and unlock the door, because chances are if you're not here i'm just going to fall asleep." He swiped the keys off the table and walked over pecking her on the forehead.

" I'll be back in a second love."

Caroline had been held up on the couch flipping through the channels and waiting for Nik to return. Just as she was glancing at the clock she heard a loud knock on the door.

" Nik! You have the keys!" she shouted and laughing to herself. Another loud knock rung out, longer and more insistent. Had they ordered so much food that he didn't have enough hands to open the door? She got up and padded over to the door, unlocking and swinging it open expecting to see Klaus there in the doorway, weighed down with food. But it wasn't Nik. her stomach dropped to the floor and she could feel her skin go cold as the blood drained from her face.

" Hey care." All the air had drained from her lungs and she struggled to try and speak. Memories of the life she had left behind came rushing back to her and a shiver of fear ran up her spine.

" Ty… what are you doing here?" He smiled at her, a look she knew all too well, a look she knew meant something completely different.

" Miss me?" He asked trying to move forward into her apartment, but she held her ground blocking his way, mostly because she wasn't sure if she could move.

" I mean you left Boston so quickly. I didn't even get a hug goodbye." Caroline could barely look him in the eye.

" Tyler. Why are you here. How do you know where i live?" He laughed rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

" I was on the phone with your dad last week. You know just to catch up, i've been trying to call your mother for months and i finally figured out she changed her number. Anyway, i mentioned that i'd be in your neck of the woods, and i wanted to drop by and see you. He was thrilled, you see he, like me, didn't understand why we broke up." She was clutching her doorknob to keep herself from shaking.

" Do you hear how crazy you sound? You can't just show up here."

" Care?" This time it actually was Nik rounding the corner and seeing her standing in her doorway with another men in front of her.

"Who's this?" Tyler asked anger creeping into his voice.

" You're dating now?" he asked, the fury on his face had never been clearer. Her voice was quiet and she hated herself for not being stronger.

" Ty, it's been more than a year." Klaus was beside tyler at the door now looking confused.

" Is there a problem?" He asked looking between his girlfriend and the stranger.

"We'll see." Tyler stated, turning and storming down the hallway.

" Care?" Klaus lead her backwards into the apartment looking concerned.

"Care, who was that?"

" That" She began,

" Was the reason i left Boston."


	10. Runaway

Chapter 10: Runaway

They sat in silence for a heart beat as Klaus took in what Caroline had just said.

" So that was.."

"My stalker Tyler? Yeah that was him." She left out a short curt laugh as if she could hardly believe what she was saying.

" It sounds so weird to say that out loud. That its real, and it's not just in head. He's here. After all this time he's still not done with me." Her voice didn't shake or stutter, it was just quiet and sure and cold. Klaus tried to gather his thoughts and understand what was happening.

" What can i do? Should we go to the police?" Caroline closed her eye's as she took a deep breath.

" It won't matter, i've gone to them before and nothing happened. The charges just went away."

" What do you-" She took his hand and guided his fingers to the back of her head. Moving aside her hair she traced his hand along a long raised line on her scalp.

"It's twenty six stitches. When i told you what happened back then i didn't tell you every detail, I just said things got scary and they did. He came over to my apartment one night after work, forced his way in the door. He was so angry, just screaming and throwing things. I tried to leave, to just get up and go. He grabbed me, shook me, threw me around. I hit my head on the corner of kitchen counter. I woke up on the floor, and he was gone and blood was everywhere." Klaus felt as if he couldn't suck another breath into his lungs, and his body tense up

" I'll kill him." he hissed out but she put a hand on his knee and looked up into his eyes. The look on her face let him know that she had something else she needed to kept speaking as calm as ever.

"They called the police at the hospital, because all my injuries with consistent with an attack. Head cracked open, all bruised up, my wrists were swollen he'd been squeezing them so hard. I gave a statement. I gave his name. They said they would pick him up, and he'd be charged before the next morning. But when i turned up the office a few days later he was there. He wasn't out on bail, he hadn't even been arrested. His father's a senator you know. He has a lot of connections at the police force." Caroline swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke again.

" I left the building the second i saw him. I stayed at the hotel under a false name, i didn't tell anyone where i was. I just sat there on the bed with the door locked and the dead bolt on. I was there three days before i figured out what to do. Elena's sister Katherine helped him, set me up with my apartment here with Elena, she even packed up and shipped all my stuff to me. I didn't even tell her what was going on. But when i called her i think she could it in my voice, and when i asked for help she didn't question it." She bite her down hard on her lip in frustration, not noticing when she drew blood.

" I really thought that this was i that naive that i could think that just by running away i could fix all my problems?" Klaus took on of her hands in both of his, and although had seemed so calm as she spoke he could feel now that her hands had begun to shake again.

" I don't know what this means. If this was just a spur of the moment thing that he showed up here or he's been planning this and he's he's not going to go away. If i should be scared or if this is over again until the next time he cracks." Klaus looked down at his hands wrapped around hers.

" Caroline, what i say next may frighten but i want you to hear me out." She looked up at him confused.

" Nik?"

" I know people. People who could help to take are this." Caroline sat up straighter, her face still masked with confusion.

" People?"

" My father is a very influential man in a lot of different circles. They could help make this go away." Caroline's eyes narrowed.

" Like your dads a mob boss or something?" She let out out her first genuine laugh. then another thought crossed her mind

"What do you mean make it go away? Like they're hit men? What they'd kill him?"

" They'd just follow him. They wouldn't touch him unless he came near you."

" Or you." Caroline said quietly.

" You're in his crosshairs now. He'd hurt you if he had the chance, i know it." He squeezed her hand in his.

" I won't let anything else happen to you Care. I promise. I don't care what it takes." she smiled sadly at him.

" Thank you . I just didn't hate that it has to be like this. I wish that the past would just stay buried, and we could just be normal people. "

" We can still be happy. I'll have this dealt with i promise." despite herself caroline couldn't help but laugh. It took her a few moments to pull herself together.

" I'm sorry" she said still laughing.

" I just feel like i'm in the godfather right now and You're not even italian. " Klaus smiled and rolled his eyes.

" Goof." he joked pulling her against his chest.

" I just hate that he knows where to find me again. That suddenly my home isn't safe anymore." Klaus straighten up a bit and Caroline pulled herself off his chest to look up at him.

" Stay with me." He saw the look of shock and hesitation on her face and continued on.

" Oh calm down i'm not asking you to move in yet. It took over a year to convince you to date me, i estimate it'll take at least eight months to get you to even keep a toothbrush at my place permanently." Caroline laughed, shaking her head.

" Just a week, or two or whatever. Until we're sure he's gone, and not just from the city, until he's back in boston or whatever sewer drain he calls home." She looked down at her hands.

"I'll sleep on the couch if you wish. If it makes you more comfortable." Caroline rolled her eyes and shoved against his shoulder.

" Don't be dumb. but thank you Nik. I'm really glad you're here."

" As long as you need me love. Whatever it takes."


	11. Entrusted

Chapter 11: Entrusted

Caroline rolled over in bed huffing happily. She had been staying at Klaus's apartment for just over a week.

" I'm in love with this mattress." she exclaimed hugging a pillow against her chest and letting her face sink into the soft feathers. Klaus, who had been reading out in the living room stood up and poked his head back into the bedroom. He leaned against the door jam staring down at her smiling lazily.

" I can tell. Based on the fact that it's what?" He glanced down at the watch on his wrist,

" 11:30." Caroline sat up in the bed and glared playfully at him.

" I don't get how you get out of bed so easily every morning. It's like a cloud. A soft but with just the right amount of firmness cloud. I mean where did you get this? Sweden? Isn't that where they have the good beds?" Nik chuckled and moved into the room and sat on the side of the bed.

" Something like that." Caroline rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to look at him.

"Nik can i ask you something kind of personal?" He glanced down at her, slightly confused but nodded.

" We have the same job, we do the same work, we make the same amount of money.." Nik laughed nervously,

" Is there a question coming?"

" How do you afford all this? This apartment is basically the same size as the space i share with two other people. These sheets? I looked at the tag and there almost as much as my rent. "

" Well in my defence. I didn't buy the sheets they were a gift" He stated jokingly.

"I don't want to be rude. I know talking about money is some sort of taboo but the curiosity is killing me. If you're dads some sort of mob boss with list of henchmen on speed dial what are you? A big bad secret drug lord?" He cracked a smile.

" You've caught me. I've been mass distributing cocaine to pay for my expensive linen habit." Although Caroline was joking around he knew that she wanted a serious answer.

" I have nothing to do with my father's business ventures, it's part of the reason i didn't stay in England. I've mentioned in passing that the money my grandmother left to me allowed for me to move here. Well she didn't exactly leave it me, because she's not exactly dead." Caroline's face scrunched up with confusion.

" She entrusted me money that i gained access to once i had graduated university. That's how i got set up here, with her help. She and my father have been at each other's throats for years, and as awful as it sounds it's their feud that fuelled my having the ability to move here." Caroline's face was very reserved as she looked up at him.

"So you're a trust fund baby?" she laughed to herself.

" I can't believe my mind went to drug lord before trust fund. Wow i really am messed." Her elbows collapsed from under her and her head fell onto his legs as she giggled against his thigh. Klaus rubbed her back as she laughed hysterically. He shook his head, smiling to himself.

" and you really are such a goof." He joked. She turned over so the back of her head was against his leg and she could look up into his face.

" Well i won't feel so bad about you paying for my sushi now." He laughed.

" Grandma Mikelson's money will gladly pay for all your raw fish." She rolled away from him again and wrapped herself back up in the blankets.

" Is she the one that brought you the sheets?" He sighed and nodded.

" I should have known. They're far too nice for your taste." Klaus laughed and climbed farther onto the bed and on top of his girlfriend. His body hovered over hers as he moved a piece of hair away from her face so he could look into her eye's.

" I don't know" he said, his voice low and his lips millimeters from her own.

" I think i've got pretty good taste, at least in one aspect."

… _._

" What do you want to do tonight?"

It was late saturday afternoon and klaus and Caroline were lounging lazily on the couch, half way through a marathon of a competitive cooking show.

"Hmm" Caroline answered looking up at him with her eyes heavy.

" Tonight. Dinner or whatever, did you want to go out?" Caroline felt her throat go dry as she tried to act casual.

" Um, we can just stay in. Order something or i can attempt to make whatever we have in the fridge." Klaus laughed,

" I'm pretty sure all that's in that fridge is a bottle of pinot, and a bag of baby carrots." Caroline laughed.

" Carrots could work." Klaus sat up a bit looking at her seriously.

" You know besides going to work you haven't really left the apartment since you've been here." Caroline stared down at the hardwood floors.

"Yeah i guess i haven't."

"Care-"

"It's nothing. I'm being stupid. They're watching and he hasn't come close, but stepping out the front door i just feel like i have a target on my back. It's dumb and maybe i'm paranoid but i feel safe here. Like i can breathe and be myself and not have to look over my shoulder every seven seconds." Nik pulled her back against his chest and placed a kiss on the top of her head, trying not to think of the scar that stretched across the back of her skull. A scar he couldn't heal.

… _._

"Forbes!" Caroline's head snapped up from her work. She swiveled in her chair to see Damon salvatore strutting across the office towards her.

" Mikelson don't bother eavesdropping, just come over i need you to hear this too." Klaus who had been peering over his cubicle wall stood up, completely unabashed to have been caught lurking and walked around to Caroline's desk to meet Damon there.

" This weekend, the Baltimore Convention center i need you both there." Klaus and Caroline both seemed a little taken aback as Damon continued on.

" BEA Baltimore. We have 6 authors attending plus our publishing booth. I need some extra hands. It's overtime, you can use a company car, and the expense account, just say yes so i can go back to my office and this conversation can be done." Caroline glanced at Klaus.

" Um, okay." she said hesitantly.

" Perfect. Drive down friday morning, and you can be back sunday. Talk to Rechelle about anything else." and with that Damon had turned on his heel and was back into his office within seconds.

" Mr. Elena Gilbert everybody." Caroline joked as she turned back to his work.

" He must be some charmer around her, because i certainly don't see the appeal." she snorted at his remark.

"Well we've already how good your taste is." He rolled his eye's walking back over to his desk.

" Baltimore's no bed and breakfast in vermont , but at least i'll be in good company." She rolled her eyes at him and shook her it was a work trip, a weekend away may be just what they needed.


	12. Baltimore

Chapter 12: Baltimore

The alarm clock blared through the Baltimore hotel room at 5 am. Klaus turned over in bed and slammed his hand down against it, silencing the god forsaken machine. He groaned as he flopped back over onto his back. The drive in from New York the night before the did them both in. They had left a few hours after lunch and hadn't made it to Maryland until long after nightfall. They had run into mass traffic, and lines at the toll booths. There had been an accident on the highway and Klaus had spent the whole ride praying that they wouldn't get a flat tire to round out their hellish drive. They'd gotten lost on the way to the hotel and had fallen asleep eating the take out burgers they had bought at a drive through on the way into the city.

"Remind me again why we agreed to do this?" Klaus asked rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed.

"Because," Caroline began sliding her feet off the bed and stretching

" Our boss corner us into it, and some of us could use the extra cash." She chucked a pillow at his back as he stood up.

"Not you of . trust fund." Klaus laughed tiredly.

"Are you ever going to stop teasing me about that?" Caroline let out a laugh herself.

" I'm sorry i just can't help it. It seems so gossip girl." Klaus rolled his eyes

"Plenty of perfectly normal and average people have trust funds love." Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, smirking slightly.

" Are you calling yourself average?" Klaus let out a laugh.

"Is that how you'd describe me? Average?" Caroline's smirk turned devilish.

"Definitely not." her voice low and alluring. Klaus felt his heart begin to race he began to back away towards the bathroom mumbling something about a shower.

" Hey! I dibst first last night!" Caroline exclaimed climbing over the bed and bolting towards the bathroom door. They wrestled in the bathroom doorway before Klaus lifted her off her feet and placed her determinedly away from him and shut the door with a triumphant "ha". Caroline slammed her palm against the bathroom door hard .

" Jerk" she muttered shaking her head. The whole time never losing the smile on her face.

… _.._

The morning was hectic, they ran around the convention centre like like crazed maniacs. There were over a hundred different authors at the convention centre and thousands of fans and although Salvatore publishing only had a small number of writers attending, they were very well known. Klaus, Caroline, and several other company employees were busy wranglings their authors to their assigned panels and booths. They had to make sure there were enough books to be signed and free gift bags to be handed out. It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon by the time they could catch their breath.

Nik reappeared by Caroline's side after a short absence and handed her the largest coffee she had ever seen.

"Bless you." She said gratefully accepting the cup and taking a large drink, not caring that she was burning her tongue in the process.

"Thank god tomorrow's only a half day." Klaus stated looking out over the convention floor.

"Then we only have to drive 3 and a half hour back to the city, go to sleep, get up the next day and go to work. What a treat." Nik rolled his eye's thinking it was good that he got her that coffee when he did, because knowing Caroline she was minutes away from blowing a fuse.

"It'll all be over soon enough, and next weekend we can spend both days lounging around the apartment." Caroline turned to him, her face unreadable.

" I noticed that you don't call it your apartment anymore." Klaus smiled, shrugging his shoulders and bumping against Caroline with his hip.

As he looked out across the room again something caught his eye over by another publishing tent.

"Has the lack of sleep caught up to me and caused hallucinations or is that your roommate over there?" Caroline looked up and followed his eye line to the Petrova Publishing tent across the crowded space. Her mouth dropped open.

" Kat." She whispered so quietly that Nik could barely hear it.

She pushed her coffee back at Klaus and took off running in the Elena look alikes direction. He watched as his girlfriend jumped into the surprised arms of the girl and they embraced tightly. They broke apart and looked at each other before laughing and hugging again.

As he walked up to them he began to hear their conversation.

" I've been trying to get him fired ever since you left. I was worried when he didn't show up at work, and then you sent me that message that he'd showed up at your apartment and i almost flew out to New York to kick his ass myself." The girl snarled. Caroline shed a small smile.

"It's fine. I'm not staying there right now just in case, and i warned Elena to look out for him around the building but i think it's going to be okay." The girl, Kat, face scrunched up.

"If you're not staying with my sister then where are you crashing?"

" I've been staying with.." Caroline turned around and extended her hand to Klaus just as he reached the pair.

" Kat, this is Nik, he works at Salvatore with me." Katherine let out an evil smirk.

" Wow Care, i'm glad you caught another fish, i just didn't think you'd go for another workplace romance." Klaus was slightly taken aback by the girls forwardness, but based on the way Caroline reacted this was Kat's normal demeanor.

"Well it may have taken some convincing." Caroline stated, blushing slightly and leaning against nik. Katherine looked down at her watch.

"We've got what 4 hours left until this thing wraps up for the night? I say afterwards we met up again for drinks and you let me grill your boyfriend for every little detail." Caroline returned Katherine's mischievous smirk.

"Deal"


	13. Now and Then

_**Feeling the need for a little inspiration for some of my stories. If you have any suggestions on anything i'm working on please feel free to share. I would really appreciate it! Do to this fact this chapter will pretty much be a filler and pretty short, but then again most of my chapters are because i suck. So sorry! But thank you for reading!**_

Chapter 13: Then and Now

Despite the insanely long and tiring day, Katherine had somehow managed to wrangle them all into going to some club downtown. It was dark, loud and crowded, the type of place Caroline hadn't spent a lot of time in since college, or when she just moved to Boston. New York had amazing night life and she had explored it a bit when she had first arrived. Bonnie or Elena would drag her along with them to whatever club was all the rave that week and she would enjoy herself at first but eventually Caroline would begin to feel suffocated crammed in with all the party goers. Her mind would end up playing tricks on her and strangers faces would begin to morph into a face she knew, a face that often haunted her nightmares. She shook that thought out of her head, She didn't want to think about that now. She could sit in this club with her old friends and Nik by her side.

"Drink up!" Katherine stated placing a tray of shots at the table in front of them with a devilish grin on her face.

"Kat…" Caroline began hesitantly as her friend shoved the glass into her hand.

" No excuses Care. Just because we all have to work tomorrow doesn't mean that we can't have a little fun tonight." Katherine threw back the shot, slammed her glass down on the table and glanced over her shoulder in search of a server for a refill. Caroline rolled her eyes as she raised her own glass to her lips. The drink burned as it raced down her throat. Tequila. Her mind snapped back to her last time with that drink. The sixth of December, the two of them giggling like school children, sitting under Nik desk with one bottle of champagne and another of tequila. One of his arms was still wrapped around her waist and as she laughed her head rested against his chest. Caroline smiled to herself, and when she glanced up at Klaus she saw that he was smiling back at her, clearly thinking about the same night.

Katherine grabbed the remaining shot from the table and shoved it in her younger brothers hand.

"That means you too Jer!" The younger man took the glass from his sister narrowing his eyes at her.

"Do you feel at all strange about force feeding your baby brother shots?" Katherine rolled her eyes and tipped jeremy's glass as he lifted it to his mouth so a fraction of the liquid sloshed down his shirt. Jer smacked her arm as his sister smirked at him.

" You're the one who's always saying you're not a kid anymore. Time to prove it." A second tray of drinks arrived at the table and Katherine distributed them eagerly.

"Or maybe you're just trying to prove you're a cooler sister then Elena." Jer suggested taking his drink from the table.

" I don't have to prove that, it's painfully obvious." Katherine stated watching as Caroline lifted her own drink off the surface in front of her.

" I'm actually more interested in seeing Caroline wasted again. I mean it's been over a year and i remember it being rather entertaining."

" It is not!" Caroline defended at the same time that Klaus said,

"It is." Caroline's mouth dropped open as she shoved against Nik's side. Klaus laughed sitting back up straight and smirking into his drink. The devilish grin returned to Katherine's face as she looked between Caroline and Klaus.

"Do share. Is she still a huge lightweight?" Kat pressed. Caroline's face flared with fury as she stared into the amused face of her old friend. Klaus chuckled.

"Well she can make it through the majority of a bottle of tequila but she might wake up in the morning missing her.." Caroline rammed her elbow hard into Nik's side causing him to yelp in pain. Klaus laughed his eyes filling slightly with tears that he blinked away. He wrapped his arm around Caroline's shoulders, still laughing slightly, as Caroline sulked beside him.

" I wouldn't be laughing if i was you. You were one of my tequila driven mistakes." Katherine laughed into her drink, causing it to go splashing everywhere. Kat looked up from her glass, wiping her face and grinning broadly.

"That makes sense." Nik narrowed his eye's at Katherine a smile still on his face.

" and what does that mean." Katherine swallowed the drink she had just taken.

" I'm not trying to be mean or anything. I just know Caroline. She doesn't jump right into new things that often. I knew everyone she dated in Boston, and i even met her highschool boyfriend once. She has a clear type, and from what i've seen you're not really it?"

" Well, none of those relationships worked out did they?" Caroline defended.  
" So i take this as an improvement." she finished as both she and Nik lifted their glasses and clinked them together, as Caroline smirked across at Katherine.

"Well that was adorable and disgusting." Kat stated throwing back the rest of her drink and let out a satisfied ahh.

…

It was sometime later after many more drinks and a lot of Katherines sarcasm Nik and Jeremy had battled their way up to the bar to find them more booze. Caroline and Kat had stayed behind to hold their table. Katherine was three sheets to the wind and had moved over to Caroline's side of the booth. She wrapped her arm around her friend, pulling caroline's neck uncomfortable down so cares head was pressed into her chest. Caroline pulled herself back into a sitting position but wrapped an arm around her friend in return.

" I've missed you kid. The office really isn't the same without you around." Caroline smiled sadly while trying to keep her voice light.

" I miss you too, but in general New York has been good for me. You know new start, new city, new job"

"New man." Katherine added looking over at the bar where Nik and Jer stood.

"That too." Caroline said smiling into her drink.

"But in all seriousness Care. Are things all good there? Cause i have no problem going over there and threatening to kick his ass if he doesn't treat you right." Kat stated as Caroline laughed again.

"Thanks for the offer but i think i'm good. There's probably been enough violence in my life." Although Kat let out a laugh she also reached for Care's hand under the table and squeezed in meaningfully.

"But that was then, and this is now. Hopefully it's all behind me for good." Katherine raised her glass to cheers her friend.

" Definitely for good."


	14. Snow Storm

Chapter 14: Snow Storm.

It was nearly 10 pm by the time Caroline and Klaus made it back to the city the next day. The event hadn't wrapped up until after 1 that afternoon and the roads back to the city had been icy and jammed with weekend traffic. Although it was against road trip etiquette Caroline had nearly fallen asleep on the drive back home. Caroline had never been so excited to see the inside of Niks apartment then when they arrived home that night. All she wanted was to take a long shower and climb into that beautiful bed and sleep for hours. She dreaded the thought of having to get up early to go to work the next morning.

Caroline took her time in the shower, enjoying the warm water and steady stream of water. This was the first time that whole weekend that she felt she got her hair truly clean. The shower in their hotel had had the worst water pressure and Caroline had thought she would get a better shower by walkin in a light rain storm. She grabbed her bright pink loffa and began to scrub her skin clean. Then she looked down at her girly frill item, and then around the rest of the bathroom. Her purple shampoo bottle sat beside Nik's navy blue men's all in one. Her toothbrush sat by the sink and her fluffy blue bathrobe was hanging on the hook on the bathroom door. Sudden she realised that she wasn't just staying at Niks apartment, like an out of town guest, she was living there. She tried to calm herself. Okay she was living there. Temporarily. So what if most of her stuff was here now. She still had a room at her apartment with Elena and Bonnie. She still paid rent! No she was still completely independant. Will living in a co dependant apartment. She turned the shower knobs off cutting off the stream of water and shook out her hair, sending water droplets flying against the glass walls and hoping all her anxious thoughts would follow them. She towel dried her hair and brushed it out flat against her face. She pulled on her sleep shirt and robe, hoping her face looked calm and Nik wouldn't be able to tell that her stomach was tying itself into a knot within her. She cracked open the door and stepped out into the living room. Klaus was standing by the window, holding a steaming mug of something in his hands and staring outside.

" Well" He began holding out the large cup for Caroline to take,

" I don't think we'll have to worry about work tomorrow." Caroline took the mug from him and strode to the window to see what he was referring too. Snow was dumbing for the sky above. Instead of coming down lightly in delicate flakes, it fell in mass clumps, almost as if it was being shoveled out from the sky in buckets.

Nik moved past her to claim his own turn in the shower and Caroline remained at the window drinking the hot tea Klaus had made in the kettle on the stove and watched the snow fall down outside trying to maintain her normal breathing pattern. She didn't know why but the thought that she and Klaus were actually living together, actually sharing a space was sort of freaking her out. She hadn't minded the idea of staying here when it was just a temporary situation, and technically it still was, temporary that is. Nothing had changed. Nik hadn't handed her a key or asked her to move in, and she knew that he wouldn't. He had said so much himself. That he knew that she wasn't ready. He had joked that it would take months to get her to keep a toothbrush at his apartment. But her tooth brush was on the bathroom counter, and what scared her more then anything was that she didn't feel like it didn't belong there. She finished her mug of tea and walked over to the kitchen, pulling open the tiny dishwasher and placing the cup on the top rack. She moved across the apartment and into the bedroom, walking over to the bed and pulling down the covers so she could climb in. Another thought sprung across her mind making her heart beat harder again.

All day she had been dreaming of going back to bed. Of climbing in, pressing her head into a pillow and sleeping. But it wasn't her bed she was dreaming of. Not the double mattress that sat on a box spring but no frame in her tiny bedroom in her apartment down the street. She hadn't been thinking about her old faded once white pink sheets or soft extra large blanket. No. She had been dreaming about the Nik's bed. The big plush king with large fluffy pillows and outrageously expensive sheets. But she hadn't thought of it was Nik's bed, or even her bed, she had thought of it as theirs. Something that the two of them shared, because she hadn't been dreaming about getting into bed alone, she had been waiting to climb into bed and have Nik wrap his arm around her and fall asleep together.

Caroline curled up on her side in Nik's bed. Because that's what it was. It was his bed. She had no claim to it. This was not her apartment, these were not her things. She had no real place here, nothing was in her control. Maybe that's what scared her. That she held no power in this situation. She was making herself too at home in a place where she was a guest. At any moment it could be torn all away, and there would be nothing she could do.

Klaus had finished with his shower and had entered the bedroom, padding barefoot across the room and around the bed to his side. No. Caroline thought. All the side's were his side. Nik pulled back the covers to the bed and climbed in beside her. He moved across the large mattress, closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close against him. He sighed happily, nuzzling her face into her neck before whispering sleepily into her ear.

"I've been dreaming about this all day."

…

Caroline woke up the next morning feeling more herself. She wondered if her over tiredness and lack of sleep had let her slip off her axis, causing her to stress over nothing. But she knew that wasn't true. She knew that she still felt that exact same way, but she could hide them deeper within herself now, and ignore her own insecurities. She flipped over in bed and found that Nik was nowhere to be found, and also that the small window on the opposite wall was almost completely filled with snow. As if sensing that she was awake, Klaus bounded into the room with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand a goofy grin on his face like a child on christmas morning. He pressed the cup into her hand and jumped down onto the bed beside her.

" A record 34 cm of snow fell overnight and it's still coming down." He stated, almost gleeful over their snow day. Caroline gulped down the majority of her coffee, not tasting it for the most part but burning the inside of her mouth and throat in the process.

"Well" Caroline started placing her coffee cup on the bedside table and smiling playfully at Klaus.

"What did you have planned for the day?" She finished tracing her finger slowly over her collarbone. Klaus smirked at her and moved closer on the bed,until his face was right in front of her own, their lips centimetres apart.

"I have a few ideas." He stated before moving forward again to kiss her.


	15. Sweet Dreams

Chapter 15: Sweet Dreams.

Caroline had dozed off on the couch later that afternoon. The snow was still falling outside the apartment window, sealing the two of them and the rest of the city inside their homes. Snowplows were slowly working their way through the city, but more snow was replacing what had been scooped up as quickly as it was taken away. The news that morning had warned them of the Blizzard like conditions that were hitting the east coast. They had spent a lazy morning in bed before migrating out to the living room. They sat together on the slightly cracked leather of Klaus's worn in couch, drinking soup from large mugs and watching daytime television, laughing at the over acted dramatic soap operas that were playing on many channels.

Caroline woke up from her nap, unsure of how long she had been sleeping, wrapped up in a soft grey wool blended blanket, her feet in Klaus's lap. She sat up a bit, propping herself up on her elbow. Nik was sitting on the other side of the couch cradling her feet and balancing a sketchbook on the arm of the couch. He hadn't noticed that she had woken up and he continued to lean over the side of the couch, his nose close to his sketch book, making small definite lines with his overly sharpened pencil. Caroline pulled her feet off his lap and moved over to his side of the couch pressing into his side as he wrapped his arm around her in an automatic response. He flipped his sketch book closed and wrapped his other arm around her as well, enclosing her in his embrace. She rested her head against his shoulder with her eye's on the leather bound sketch book. She yawned a bit as she spoke.

"What were you drawing?" She asked looking up into his face.

" Nothing. Just doodles really." He responded too quickly. Caroline stayed silent for a moment lulling Klaus into a false sense of security and then she sprung. She had the sketch pad in her hands before Nik had realized what was happening.

"Hey!" He shouted as she jumped to the other end of the couch and flipped through the pages. The latest sketch was half finished, clearly the one he had just been working on. Her heart stopped in her chest as she looked down at the pencil sketch. She was looking down at her own face on the page. Caroline page was had her eye's closed as she slept peacefully. Caroline ran her finger over the drawing of herself.

"Nik.." She began, he snatched the book away from her and stashed it behind the couch looking sheepish. She moved back over to him, smiling sweetly, and then cracked a grin, sitting on her knees facing him.

" Drawing me while i sleep? Just a tad creepy." She joked. He rolled his eye's and cracked a smile himself. Pulling Caroline back against his side.

"Don't get too full of yourself now." He joked along with her.

" I mean really. It's almost like i have two stalkers now." He laughed again more out of shock then amusement.

" You're really quite astounding you know that?" Klaus asked rubbing his thumb against her shoulder. Caroline rolled her eye's.

" And why exactly would you say that?" She asked resting her head against his chest once more.

" Despite everything that's happened, you can make light of it, joke about your pain. It's impressive. It takes some people years of therapy to achieve that." Caroline laughed awkwardly.

" My mom used to tell me i used humour as a form of deflection, i guess it just kind of transferred over." Klaus gave her a half smile and then spoke,

" He's back in boston you know. They sent word this morning." Caroline felt a weight she hadn't noticed that she'd been carrying lift from her chest. Tyler was out of the city. Out of her life again, at least for now.

" But what happens next?" She asked, looking down at her hands.

"What do you mean?" Nik asked looking down at Caroline still wrapped in his arms.

" Well you can't have him watched forever. I'm sure your father's goons have more important criminals to rough up and follow around." Klaus had already thought about this and was ready with his response.

"They'll keep tailing him for a few weeks, just to make sure he's settled in for good. After that they can check in periodically. I spoke with your friend Kat and she's going to keep an out in your old office. If he starts behaving oddly or doesn't show up for work we'll know, and they'll find him again." Caroline let out a laugh of disbelief.

" You're godfather connections have really been a lifesaver. Remind me to send your father a thank you note." Nik laughed pulling her tighter against his chest.

" I guess i can move home then." Caroline said awkwardly, biting the inside of her cheek so hard that she could taste blood in her mouth. She could feel Klaus tense beside her.

" You should probably wait a few days, until the storm has settled down. You don't want to move all your stuff in the snow. Especially since you have a U haul worth of things lying around here." Caroline rolled her eye's but didn't fight him on his point. Despite all her stress from the night before she wasn't in a huge hurry to leave Nik's apartment. She liked the way they were now. She knew that even when she moved back to her apartment she would still spend at least a few nights a week there, out of convenience and comfort. That was a good compromise she thought. A way to keep her control, her freedom, while still enjoying a piece of the life she had here within the walls of Nik's place.

"You're probably right." She agreed, as she snuggled down against Niks side.

…

"The city's all but shut down out there." Klaus stated as she climbed into bed. Caroline looked up from the book Nik had leant her that afternoon and placed it on the bedside table.

"The email from HR said not to try and come into the office until the city can clear the roads and the travel advisory lifts." Caroline smiled at the idea of that. These few days would be the most time Caroline had had off in ages, and she couldn't wait to spend the long lazy days lounging in bed the way she had when she was a teenager. Klaus flipped the light switch and the room was cast into darkness. Caroline hunkered down in bed as Nik pulled her close. They were face to face , their noses touching while his hands rested gently on her hips. He placed a light kiss on her lips before flipping her body to the side and pulling her back against his base chest.

" Sweet dreams love." He whispered into her ear. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Wondering if he could tell that she'd been having nightmares.


	16. Backlash

Chapter 16: Backlash

"Well this is different." Bonnie commented as she, Caroline and Elena slide into a booth at a wine bar on the upper west. It was just over a week since the blizzard had hit the eastern seaboard and although the weather was still extreme life in New York had more or less gotten back to normal.

"The three of us, All together in the same room. I think it's been months" She quipped, opening her menu and looking up at her friends. Elena rolled her eyes.

" Don't exaggerate Bon. We live together, we see each other all the time." Elena stated. Bonnie huffed out a breath.

"Please. Caroline just started staying at the apartment again after moving in with her boyfriend and then what? Getting cold feet? And now the both you tag team, switch off spending nights at your boyfriend's places. It's like i live in a ghost town." Bonnie finished. Caroline lifted the wine glass that had just been put in front of her to her lips.

"To be fair to Elena, You've seen Damon's apartment right? It's basically the size of our buildings whole floor. If i was dating him i would never leave." Elena rolled her eyes as Caroline continued.

"Beside,we should be thankful. Neither of us were there the night they spent at our place, but from what Elena let slip they must be pretty lou-" Caroline stopped abruptly when Elena elbowed her hard in the side.

Caroline rubbed her sore ribs as Elena began speaking.

"You know what i think Bon. I think you're in such a mood because you haven't been getting any." Bonnie and Caroline both snorted into their drinks causing droplets of wine to fall all over the table. Caroline laughed softly as she mopped up the table and Elena continued to speak.

" I'm serious. When was the last time you even hooked up with a guy? Because i'm pretty sure it was when my brother came to visit. Seven months ago." Bonnie's nostrils flared.

"Hey! I thought we'd agreed we were never going to talk about that. It was just a very big very drunken mistake." Bonnie defended. Elena grinned as she saw redness flush over Bonnie's face.

"You know, speaking of brothers, Klaus's is coming to town in a few weeks, and Nik says he's a huge asshole. Totally your type." Caroline quipped smirking across at her embarrassed and blushing friend.

…

Caroline and Elena were in the laundromat down the street from their apartment later that week. Caroline was sorting out her laundry while Elena sat on top of a table near by, holding a basket and watching her friend do all the work.

"So i was thinking…" Elena began, leaning forward and batting her large eyes at her friend.

" Maybe you and Klaus would want to go to dinner… with me...and ...damon…" Caroline stopped in her tracks and looked over at her friend in disbelief.

"Elena we've been over this before. We are not double dating!" Caroline exclaimed pulling open a washing machine and throwing in a load of whites. She pushing in her quarters and pressed start as Elena continued her argument.

"But why not? Care, i have no other couple friends, Damon has no couple friends. You are it. We are supposed to be going to doubles brunch and going wine tasting as a group and doing other couply things!" Elena exclaimed. Caroline sighed.

" I will explain this to you one more time. For you, double dating would be just be going to dinner with friends, but for Nik and i it would be like going to dinner with you and our boss. Do you not see how that would be just a little bit weird? "

"It's only weird if you make it weird."

… _.._

"Where are you going?" Nik asked as Caroline untangled herself from his arms and rose from the couch. It was saturday night, and although it broke their usual routine Caroline seemed to be preparing to leave.

"Home." She stated with a smile, taking her coat off the back of a chair and pulling it on.

"It's barely 8. You're not spending the night?" He asked, sitting up straighter and looking disappointed.

" I still have so much to do tomorrow it's not even funny." Caroline had only arrived at the apartment a few hours earlier, after spending the whole day running errands day but was still behind. She had been too leisurely over the past weeks, with the storm and spending so much time at Niks, putting too much aside of another day.

"That doesn't mean that you can't stay.." Nik began rising to his feet and moving towards her.

"You stay back." Caroline exclaimed backing towards the door.

" I'm onto your game." She stated, her hand on the doorknob and her back against the door.

"What's that then?" He asked an amused look on his face.

"The same game you'd play in the morning if i spent the night. I'd try and leave and suddenly you'd be all-" Caroline cleared her throat and began to imitate Klaus's voice.

" _Oh where are you going? Come back to bed. la da da da-_ and then you'd do that thing with your lips and the next thing we know it's 11:30 and i still haven't left bed." Nik laughed at her words and moved closer, Placing on of his hands on her hip and another on the door by her head. He leaned in so their foreheads were touching. Caroline raised a single finger to her mouth to keep their lips separated.

"I'm going now." She stated, pulling open the door, and moving into the hallway.

"At least let me walk you home! It's late." He offered trying to follow her. She placed a hand on his chest and pushed him backwards into his apartment.

"Please it's barely 8. The streets are still full of perfectly pleasant law abiding people, and besides i still have the pepper spray my dad bought me when i left for universtiy on my keys." She assured him leaning forward to peck his lips before walking down the hallway.

"I'm sure i'll see you tomorrow." She called over her shoulder and continued down the hall.

…

Caroline hurried down the streets, going over in her mind all the things she had to do the next morning. The laundry was done, but the apartment was a mess, she needed to ship off her mother's birthday present, and if she didn't file her taxes soon she'd never end up doing them.

She brushed by hundreds of people on her short walk home, all with their heads straight forward intent on getting to their destination and not bothering with the people around them. As she was approaching her building she began to dig around in her bag for her keys, cursing herself for not reaching for them sooner. She turned to enter alcove of her building where the front door was placed, and reached to buzz herself in. Before her fingers could reach the buttons she felt a strong hand wrap around her wrist. She gasped as she was pushed backward against the hard stone wall of her buildings entrance.

… _.._

A shorttime after Caroline had headed home, Klaus had returned to his perch on the couch unsure what to do to occupy his time. He watched the clock in his kitchen, counting the amount of time it would take Caroline get back to her building, sure she would text as soon as she arrived safely.

He heard his phone began to vibrate across the room and rose from where he sat and strode across the room to retrieve his device. A number he did not recognize was displayed on the screen and after a few moments hesitation he answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Klaus?" A hoarse and panic voiced reached him from the other end.

""Who's this?" He asked, turning to head back into his living room.

"Katherine. Listen to me this is important." The gilberts girl's voice was unrecognizable, but the fear in it caused his skin to go cold.

" I've been sick. I haven't been to office in days, but i just spoke with one our co workers. Tyler wasn't in the office yesterday. or the day before. It could be nothing. But it could be something. Tell me she's with you right now?" But Klaus had barely heard her last words, his phone was wrapped in his grasp as he ran from his apartment.

…

"Do you think that i'm stupid?" Tyler snarled his face so close to hers that she could feel each breath that he took.

" I wasn't born yesterday Caroline, i can tell when i'm being followed." Her wrists were wrapped so tightly in his grasp that her fingers hand begun to go numb. His body caged her in against the wall, and although there were countless people walking by no one noticed, all they saw was a couple crouched under the cover of a building, wrapped in a tight embrace. He pulled her forward slightly and then smashed her against the wall again. He brought his face closer until his mouth was pressed up against her ear.

"It didn't have to be like this." He stated.

"This is your fault. I wanted to love you and all you did was push me away." He snarled. He let out an exasperated laugh and pulled back looking into Caroline's cold eyes.

"You did this. You ruined us." He spat, his eyes dark and furious. Despite the fear Caroline felt in the moment her voice did not shake as she spoke.

"No." She paused,

" You did." In a swift movement she knee'd him hard, causing him to recoil with pain. His grip on her wrists loosened for a moment and she pulled away, and dashed out into the streets. Her freedom was short lived as she felt a pair of hand push hard against her back. Caroline fell hard against the pavement and her skull smacked against the pavement with a loud crack.


	17. Lenox Hill

Chapter 17: Lennox Hill

Klaus's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He clenched his fingers into fists, wincing at the pain that flared through his left hand. He didn't care. He'd take any pain he could get. Anything to keep him conscious in that moment, stop his thoughts from wandering to the deep and dark corners of his mind.

The waiting room on fourth floor of the lennox hill hospital was almost empty. Elena, Caroline's emergency contact, was across the room pacing back and forth on the phone with her sister. A nervous looking dark haired woman sat in the far corner tapping her foot in a nervous tic. It was just past 10 o'clock, and the visitors waiting room of the hospital felt more like a ghost town than anything else. It was dimly lit,one of the panel lights on the ceiling flickering slightly, and Klaus attempted to count each of its beats and calm the rhythm of his own heart. A TV sat high on a shelf in the corner, its volume so loud that anyone listening would have to strain to hear it. He ground his teeth, anger boiling within him once again.

Elena plopped herself down in the chair next to him, her face stained with tears.

" She never told me." She whispered, looking down at her hands and digging her nail into the skin of her thumb.

"She didn't really tell anybody. She didn't want people to know." Klaus stated, his eyes still fixed on the light above him.

"Katherine knew something, but not the whole story."

"But she told you?" Elena asked, looking up into his face. Klaus nodded his head.

" I forced it out of her." He said a ghost of a smile traced across his face before falling again into lines of misery. Elena swallowed the lump in her throat unsure of what to say next.

"I'm glad. She wasn't alone with it then."

They'd been sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, waiting for someone, anyone, to come update them. A doctor had been by to look at his hand, wrapping his knuckles in goze and looking at him pitifully. There was a middle aged woman sitting at the nurses station across the hall, who had been the one to call Elena, and had brought Klaus a cup of watery coffee, giving him a small smile and a meaningful pat.

A rather young looking doctor rounded the corner into the hallway, flipping through a chart and looking slightly flustered. Klaus and Elena rose to their feet feeling their chests tighten in anticipation of the news.

The doctor stopped a few feet infront of them, flashing a tight smile before looking back at his chart.

" I'm Doctor Fell." The man said flipping through his notes

"You're here for Caroline Forbes, Yes?" Doctor asked, looking back up at the two of them. They nodded, the anxiety rising between the two of them. The doctor looked between them warily.

"And you're family?" He asked his eyes narrowed. Klaus felt his stomach drop, but Elena respond immediately.

"Yes." She stated confidently, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"Im her sister." She lied, her face straight and composed. The doctor nodded and then addressed Elena.

"You're sister suffered some trauma to abdomen, she has bruised ribs in addition to a broken wrist, but what we're most concerned with at the moment is her head injury. She lost consciousness in the field, and from her head CT we've detected a small brain bleed. We'll watch it over the next few hours and if it doesn't repair itself, then we'll go in surgically. I'd place a shunt to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure." He stated matter of factly.

"But she'll be okay?" Klaus pressed, surprised that his voice didn't shake when he spoke. The doctor shifted his gaze from Elena to Nik.

"She isn't out of the woods yet, but i'm optimistic." He stated, giving them another tight smile and turning back to elena.

" If her bleeding stops and her vitals stabilize, then we'll be able to reduce her sedation and she'll regain consciousness. At that point i'd feel comfortable moving her out of the ICU, you'd be able to see her then." The doctor turned to leave and then thinking better of it he turned back and addressed Elena again.

"Are your parents on their way?" Elena hesitated for a moment and then remembering her prior statement she spoke.

"They live out of state. Um, i don't know if they're coming." Elena said quietly, thinking of the phone call one of them would have to make.

"Well if they do, I or another member of your sister's medical team will be happy to answer any questions they have."

Doctor Fell retreated back down the hallway and through the restricted doors. Elena let out a huff of air as if breathing freely for the first time all evening.

"I didn't even think about her parents. About calling them, or anything." She said in disbelief, she looked at him uncertainly.

"Should i call them… or should you?" She asked, unsure of his answer.

"Honestly. I don't think they know i exist." Klaus said, rubbing his face in his hands.

" I might be gentler coming from you." He stated. Elena nodded and took a seat to look up the number.

…

It was another few hours before they had anymore news. Elena had long since gotten off the phone with Caroline parents, and was huddled in one of the chairs, her legs pulled up against her chest, her head in her arms. Klaus couldn't tell if she had fallen asleep or if she was just finding her face from the room. Nik may have fallen asleep himself, he wasn't sure. But he had closed his eye's only for a moment, and when he opened them there was a nurse striding towards them. He sat up straight and nudged Elena awake.

"You can see her now if you like." They rose to their feet quickly, brushing out the wrinkles in their clothes.

"Follow me." The nurse stated, leading them down the hallway and around a few corners.

"She's asleep now, and she's still on quite a lot of pain medication so she'll be groggy when she wakes up." The nurse said opening the door to one of the rooms and standing aside to let them enter.

It was still dark outside, and the artificial light in the hospital room stung Klaus and Elena's eyes as they walked in. The nurse shut the door behind them and for a moment Nik and Elena stood frozen at the mouth of the room afraid to step forward.

Caroline was asleep flat on her back, her right wrist wrapped tightly in a hard cast, placed carefully by her side. Much of her head was wrapped in gauze, but Klaus could still see the dried blood in her hair. He felt like he might be sick. He swallowed hard, letting the acid burn his throat.

…

Elena had offered to stay for a few more hours, at least until Caroline woke up, but Klaus could see that she was asleep on her feet. He had sent her back to her apartment, promising to call as soon as Caroline woke up.

He had pulled up a chair on the left side of Caroline's bed and sat down. He rested his head against the side of the bed, and waited.

… _._

The next time he woke up the sun was just beginning to rise over, a small strip of sunshine flooding into the room through the gap in the curtains. He felt a something ghost over his hand. A finger ran over his wrapped up knuckles lightly. He sat up and opened his eyes.

Her hand was beside his, her fingers reaching out to touch the bloody gauze across his left knuckles. Caroline's eyes were barely open, but she was looking down his hand, considering it carefully. Her voice was quiet and hoarse when she spoke.

"What happened to your hand?" She asked, looking up to meet his gaze. He felt as if a fifty pound weight had been lifted off his chest and he let out his first true breath for the first time since leaving his apartment the night before.

"Jesus, you scared me." he breathed out, his voice thick and relieved. He stood half way out of his chair and leaning over his pressing a kiss to her forehead, his hand cradling one side of her face.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and Doctor Fell entered, planked by a nurse.

"Ms. Fobes, if you're up for it, the police would like a word with you."


	18. Bloody Knuckles

**Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing this story! Your words mean a lot! Bless.**

Chapter 18: Bloody Knuckles

Klaus had sat quietly at carolines bedside while Caroline spoke with the detectives assigned to her case. She answered their questions in a quiet but steady voice, watching the wall opposite her bed rather than returning the gaze of the inquisitive cops.

The police officers, exchanged unsure glances when Caroline mentioned the unresolved charges from her attack in Boston that had gone un acknowledged. One of the officers, excused himself from the room, pulling out his cellphone and heading for the privacy of the hallway. The female officer, closed her notepad and gave Caroline a curt and tight smile. She promised to return with her partner in a few hours, and told Caroline to get some rest in their absence.

After a few more hours of sleep, Caroline awoke, still with the splitting pain in her head, but feeling for alert than before. She used her good hand to adjust her bed frame, feeling her mattress bend and sit her up in bed. She winced in pain at the ache in her abdomen and the bruising around her ribs. Her doctor had explained her condition to her in the ICU after she had regained consciousness, and before she'd been transferred out to general care. As she was being wheeled down the hallway, her eyes drifted closed, but sleep didn't reach her quite yet.

She could still hear the sound of her skull cracking against the pavement ringing in her ears and though she had lost consciousness right at that moment she could imagine what happened next. She wondered how long it took for someone to pull Tyler off her. He had done his damage in the time that he had. Her body ached as the image formed in her head of Tyler standing over her, fury on his face as his foot came into contact with her rib cage and stomach. How many times had he kicked her while she was down, not caring about the blood that was seeping onto the sidewalk from her open head wound.

… _._

Despite his protests, caroline had insisted, the same way Nik had for elena, that he go home and shower. He looked dead on his feet and could use the break, but caroline did have ulterior motives. Her mother had left multiple panicked voicemails on her cell phone, which caroline had just received. She had called Liz just as she was climbing into a cab at JFK, and was waiting for her mother to arrive at her hospital room any minute. She watched the door, waiting for her mother to storm in, guns blazing.

Liz had sat with her head in her hands at Caroline's bed side, in shock, disbelief and horror. She listened quietly as caroline explained the circumstances of her attack and everything that had lead up to it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Liz asked, her voice confused and hurt as she looked up into her injured daughters worried face.

"There was nothing you could have done." Caroline insisted quietly. Liz rose from her chair with a huff, pushing back against it so hard that it went tumbling to the floor.

"Nothing i could do?" Liz's voice rose as her anger did.

"Dammit Caroline i'm a cop!". Caroline shut her eyes tight, trying to conceal her exasperation.

"No offense, but a small town sheriff doesn't have much jurestician with Chicago pull in the senator's office. If i had told you it wouldn't have done anything but make you put you in danger." Caroline defended, trying to sit up straighter in bed but falling back, wincing with pain. Liz took a breath, placing the chair back on its feet and pulling in close to her daughter's bedside again.

"I could have helped. We could have taken the proper legal action, filed a restraining order, or" At those words Caroline actually laughed.

"Don't you get it? None of it mattered. Someone who's willing to attack another person in front of hundreds of witnesses, wouldn't be stopped by a piece of paper. I did what i did to keep myself as safe as i knew how, and you know for a long time it worked, and for a little while i felt safe, and that was enough for me." Caroline defended, looking away from her mother and at ceiling.

"I'm going to check into my hotel." Liz said, pulling herself together and turning for the door.

"I'll be back soon." She promised, pulling open the door.

"Caroline?" Her mother called from halfway out the door. She looked up to meet her mother's gaze.

"I'm really glad you're okay."

… _.._

" Please tell me that's for me?" Caroline asked as Klaus walked back into her hospital room, coffee in hand.

"Hospital food only for you. Doctors orders." Klaus joked pulling up his old chair next to her bed again. Nik put his coffee down on a nearby table and sat down. He took her uninjured hand in both of his

"You never answered me you know?" Caroline said, running her fingers over the gauze on Niks hand again.

"When i asked you before. About your hand." She said quietly, looking up into his eyes.

"It's not my injuries i was worried about love." He said looking down at his wrapped hand, and her fingers lingering on the dried blood there.

"Nik…" She said again, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Knuckles tend to get bloody when you break someone's jaw." He stated looking past Caroline and out the window across from him.

" Wh-" He spoke again, still watching the world outside the window.

" You were gone when i got there. The ambulance was just pulling out, but the police were still there, and so was he. He was in handcuffs, and they were loading him into the back of the cop car, but he had your blood on shoes. I couldn't stop myself. I hit him, hard. i would have hit him again if an office hadn't caught my hand. I would have kept hitting him and hitting him until it was his blood on my shoes."

Caroline swallowed the lump in her throat, and looked down at her hands in her lap. She was silent for a long time between them.

"Car-" He began, but a knock sounded on the door to Caroline's room. Elena entered, half running in and rushing to her friends side. Damon walked in behind her, looking slightly awkward but mostly at ease, holding a large bouquet of flowers.

Elena wrapped her arms carefully around her friend, and Caroline embraced her back, although her body still felt cold for Niks words.


	19. Not enough

Chapter 19: Not enough

Elena sat on Caroline's bed and clutched onto her friends good hand, while Damon sat the vase of flowers on a nearby table and moved to lean against the window.

"Bonnie's stuck at work, but she promised to visit as soon as she's off, and Katherine's going to get time off and come down too." Elena promised, babbling on, unsure what to say and how to act around her friend. Caroline smiled and nodded along with Elena's rants, her mind racing with all the thoughts jumbled up in her head. She wasn't sure how to feel. Or what she should think.

She was angry. She was exhausted. She was anxious, But mostly she was relieved. This wasn't something that Tyler's dad could buy this way out of. Not even a senator could talk there way around his son physically attacking an ex girlfriend in the middle of the street. The police had been confused about the prior disappeared charges, but that didn't mean that they couldn't lay new ones. She knew there would be an investigation, and a trial and millions of hoops to jump through but Caroline didn't care. Tyler would eventually go to jail. She didn't know when. Or for how long. But the time he spent behind bars would be the only time when she could breath.

That would be the time when she could walk down the street without wondering who was behind her. When she wouldn't see his face in every passerby. She would be free, even if just for a little while, without having to runaway.

Still she worried. What did this say about her? That despite the pain and the fear that she had experienced in the past twenty four hours, in a way she was grateful. Maybe this had to happen. Maybe this was the only way that this would end. It could have been worse. She was awake, and breathing, and although her head pounded and her chest ached she was alive. She was willing to endure this pain, willing to have her blood spilled on the sidewalk in front of her home if it meant she could escape the cycle she had been shoved into.

…

It was nearly an hour later, and while Elena was still sitting on the side of her friends bed, Damon had pulled up a chair and was now lounging across from Klaus, somehow still maintaining his casual demeanor despite the situation. As glad are Caroline was to have her friend there, her eye's were growing heavier and the pain in her head and ribs was increasing. She was trying to figure out a way to discreetly reach for her pain pump when Klaus noticed the expression on her face and rose to his feet, suggested they continue the visit later on after Caroline had a chance to get some rest.

Elena leaned forward and smacked a wet kiss against her friend's cheek and promised to return later. Elena reached for Damon's hand as he rose to his feet as well.

" Don't worry about work." Damon stated, looking at Carolien and then throwing a glance at Klaus acknowledging the mutual need for time off.

" This is what temp agencies are for." He said with a smirk as he and Elena headed for the door.

" I bet you're glad you bought into the company healthcare plan now." He joked his way out the door, Elena shoving against his shoulder.

Klaus stood again and sauntered over to the windows, pulling the blinds closed so the room was cast into semi darkness.

The pain was clear on Caroline's face as she lay back in bed. Klaus took his seat next to her bed again as she glanced over at him.

" You don't have to stay." She said quietly as she struggled to keep her eye's open.

"Do you want me to go?" He asked his voice as small as her's. She closed her eye's and struggled to open them again, shaking her head ever so slightly with a no.

"Nik i just-" He took her hand again as her voice fell away.

" Just sleep. We can talk after." He promised, as he watched her fall backwards into sleep.

…

Nik was flipping through a magazine he had found in the room, not reading any of the articles, or seeing the photos on the page before him, but in desperate need for something to do with his hands.

"Has my mom been here?" Klaus looked up at the sound of Caroline's voice, closing the magazine in his lap. Caroline's eyes were barely open but she was watching him closely. He shook his head.

"Your father called." He offered, gesturing to her phone on the table beside her.

"He's sorry he couldn't be here." He said, watching as her face remained flat in the same pale expression.

" You spoke to him?" Caroline asked, and he nodded. The ghost of a smile ran across her face.

" Now you've spoken to him more this year then i have." She joked, extending her hand and reaching for the water by her bedside.

"The police were here again.' He added, watching as she slowly drank the water in her glass.

" There's a date set for a bail hearing, but for now he's been transferred to rikers." Klaus finished, watching her face for a sign of her emotions.

" So he's in prison? I mean at least for now?" She asked, placing her now empty glass on the table.

'" It's not enough." Klaus growled, digging his nails into the palms of his hands that were curled into fists.

"Well why don't you have one of daddy's little helpers shank him in the jail yard?" She joked, but as she watched Klaus's unchanging expression she grew more concerned.

"That was a joke." She clarified, still watching him closely.

" You didn't laugh." She stated, her stomach twisting into knots as her eyes focused on her clenched fists.

" I can't pretend it didn't cross my mind." Klaus stated, his eye's glued to his own hands.

" Nik.." Her voice was small and worried, but what hurt him the most was that he could hear the edge of fear in her words. He pushed back against his chair and stood, walking up to the window and staring out at the world outside.

" It took you a long time to come clean to me about your past Caroline, but yet i still haven't been honest enough with you to share mine." He glanced back over his shoulder at her and saw as she struggled to sit up farther in bed to look at him.

" When i was growing up, my father did his best to mold me into exactly what he needed me to be. And who he needed me to be was heartless. He tried to turn me cold, and cut off my humanity. For a while he got what he wanted. For most of high school, i fought my wars with my fists, and i have more blood on my hands then i'm proud to say. And i know what it's like to be so angry and get to the point where i hit someone, and didn't think i would stop." He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to continue.

" It was my last year of high school, when i finally started to snap out of it. I moved out, and to university, away from my father. I even saw a therapist and i thought i worked myself out. But i would be lying to you, if i said that i wouldn't kill him if i had a chance." Klaus turned away from the window and faced Caroline. Her eye's were glossed with tear that had yet to fall.

" I don't want you to be afraid of me." Klaus said quietly.

" I don't want to be afraid." She stated.

" Of anyone. Or anything." Caroline continued, reaching out her hand, in a sign that he should come closer.

" Caroline-" He began, taking her hand and sitting by her side again.

" I told you that i wanted to trust you." She said her voice quiet but sure,

" And i do." She whispered, closing her eyes and squeezing his hand in hers.


	20. Bumps and Bruises

Chapter 20: Bumps and Bruises

" For the last time, i do not need another pillow." Caroline stated using her good hand to swat away Klaus's.

She had been released from the hospital only a few days prior after her week's stay. She had undergone surgery to prepare inflammation and bleeding in her abdomen, her wrist had been fixed with a proper cast, and after her CT scan had come back clean she had been cleared to be discarded from hospital care.

Caroline had felt foolish being wheeled out onto the street in a wheelchair, but the nurses had insisted toting on about hospital policy and liability until Caroline had complied and plopped herself down into the chair, trying to keep the pain from showing on her face.

The first day back at Nik's apartment she had slept the entire day and through the night. The simple act of being back in a proper bed had allowed her to ignore her pain and fall happily into hour and hours of uninterrupted sleep. The second day she slept late into the morning, and spent the rest of the day trying her best not to get annoyed with Klaus and his constant hovering. By that night she insisted that he return to work the next day.

So there they were that morning, Caroline in bed surrounded by mountains of pillows, sporting an only slightly exasperated look, and Klaus standing at the end of the bed looking concerned.

"You know i'm really not sure it's the best idea for me to go in today. Maybe i should just stay-" Caroline shot him a glare and tried to hoist herself up straighter in bed,

"Nik i'm fine! And it's been almost two weeks, there's no reason for both of us to miss this much work. I mean one day tragedy could strike and you could lose your entire trust fund in a stock market crash and then you'll be thinking ' Gee i wish i hadn't skipped those three weeks of work back in the winter of '16 because now i'm homeless." Klaus rolled his eyes at her.

"You just had major surgery!" He stated with a huff.

" Minor!" Caroline countered, wincing as she tried and failed once again to sit up.

" They removed your spleen!" Klaus said exasperated.

" Laparoscopically! There's barely even a scar." Caroline defended.

" Still you're supposed to be taking it easy."

" And i will. You've spent the last twenty minutes rushing around here making sure i can take it easy." Caroline gestured around the room. The remote to the tv was sitting on the bedside table next to her pill bottles and a litre bottle of water. The pillows were propping her up and the blankets were wrapped around her figure. The blinds were drawn to keep the sun from glaring into her eye's, and a stack of books was at her fingertips. Her stomach wasn't much up to large meals since her surgery but there was a collection of snacks piled precariously by her bedside.

" You'll call if you need anything?" Klaus pressed, ringing his hands together. She smiled at him, letting out a small laugh.

" Yes. I promise now go!" She pushed.

" Remember you have to take the blue pills every three hours and the whites every six hours. I set an alarm on your phone just incase you forget" Klaus reminded, pulling on his coat. She nodded, smirking at him.

" and you have to take them with food, and not just a bite either, or they'll make you sick." Caroline let out a genuine laugh and shook her head at him.

"You'll make a great mom one day you know." Caroline teased.

" And my brother is supposed to be arriving today, against my wishes and pleas i may add. His flight isn't meant to land until four but if by some cruel trick of fate he arrives here before i do, call me at work and i'll be home within the next fifteen minutes. I mean it. Kol looks innocent but he can be a menace. I'm not sure you could handle him in your top form." He half joked.

" I take offense to that." Caroline joked, as Klaus walked forward and bent to kiss her forward lightly.

" If you need me.." He began and Caroline cut him off.

" If my pillow so much as falls onto the floor you'll be the first to know." She joked.

" ha ha."

… _._

Caroline huffed as she closed her book and tossed it to the end of the bed. It was mid morning and Klaus had been at work for several hours now, but Caroline was already bored. She had been hoping to fall back asleep after Klaus had left, one of the benefits of having a major concussion, but she had had no such luck. She had watched the today show, good morning america, and Live with Kelly and Michael, and at this point she was sick of morning television, she book hadn't captured her attention, and her eye's were too tired to stare at her phone screen. She was struggling with the setting on the tv remote, and half considering calling nik at work for instructions on how to get the tv back onto the netflix app.

All she really wanted to do was take the shower but that wasn't a one man job anymore. She didn't have sure of one of her hands, and she needed support to stand for more than five minutes at a time. After consuming most of her water, and hauled herself out of bed, and using the wall for support inched her way across the bedroom and to the bathroom door. She braced herself against the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. The bruising on her face had faded slightly going yellow in some patches but were majority black and stitches across her forehead were bright red and slightly swollen. She attempted to brush her hair out of her face, wishing that she could pull her hair into a ponytail, but she didn't have the ability to do so with one handed. She took a deep breath and gently pulled up the edge of her pajama shirt. Her incision site from her surgery was plastered over with a thick surgical bandage, but the bruising around her ribs was even darker than that of her face. She poked a single finger into her side, wincing at the pain but somehow she was drawn to poke again. This was a pain she could control. Leaning against the counter, fresh on her latest dose of painkillers, she could poke her bruises and control the amount of pain she felt. Her eye's were beginning to feel heavy again, and she stumbled her way back to the bedroom. She climbed back into bed, falling back into the mass amounts of pillows and wrapping herself into the blankets. Her eyes drifted closed and as she fell asleep she hoped that the medication she took would ward off her all too familiar nightmare.


	21. Knock Knock

Chapter 21: Knock Knock

 **Here's a really shitty chapter. You're welcome.**

The knock out black curtains kept out most of the late afternoon sunshine that was somehow pushing its way through the bleak gray manhattan late winter sky. Of course it would be the days that Caroline had to spend in bed that the weather would finally begin to turn around. If it were a day just like any other, and not the week following her attack Caroline might have been outside enjoying the weather. She recalled the last spring, her first in new york, only a few months after she had moved to the city. She and Nik had just started to become closer friends, and on the first day that early spring that the sun was high in the sky and warm on the pavement they had abandoned their usual spot in the employee lunch room and dashed onto the street like excited children. They eat their lunch on a bench down the block, the air around them still frigid and unwelcoming but the sun on their faces warm enough to make it worth it.

It wasn't the sun that had woken Caroline up from her un restful sleep that afternoon, but rather a sharp knock on the front door of the apartment. Her eyes fluttered open at the sound, and as she attempted to sit up, but the powerful pounding pain in her head pushed her body backwards and she fell back against her pillows, her hand flying over her eyes out of instinct. She groped around for her pain killers on the bedside tables and shoved a few down her throat as she tried once again to sit up in bed. The initial knock that had woken her had now turned to a loud hammering against the door, persistent and never ending, like the pounding in her head. The clock on the bedside table read just past one o'clock. As soon as Caroline's feet met the cool wood floor of the bedroom her heart dropped from her chest and her stomach tied into a tight knot. Who was at the door? Who would show up in the middle of a work day and hammer so insistently on the door when no one should be home? There was only one person that came to mind, and that thought made her want to crawl back into bed, hide under the covers and call the police. He couldn't be out could he? Someone would have told her if he had booked a hearing and posted bail. That was something she would know right? But who else could it be? Who else would just show up here? Caroline gingerly pulled a sweatshirt over her body and moved very slowly towards the living room. Her body ached with each step towards the door, which was still being hammered on by a strong fist. As she moved closer to the door a thought stuck her. What if he somehow broke down the door? She needed a weapon. But what could she use? There was a heavy coffee table book, or the lamp maybe? She spotted the butcher block on the kitchen counter and made a b line for it. With shaking hands she pulled out a long sharp carving knife and inched her way towards the door. Her heart thudded along with the pain in her head as she took each step towards the front of the apartment. She felt slightly light headed as as she walked she could feel the pain in her stomach. She wondered briefly if she was stretching her stitches. Would they tear? Caroline's fear kept her from caring.

She was only a few feet from the door when she came to a complete stop. What was she doing? What was her plan? To just fling open the door and stab her ex boyfriend? No, her initial plan to hide under the covers had been a far better idea. In fact she was just about to creep back into the bedroom, crawl into the closet and text Nik to call the police. She couldn't risk making anymore noise. She was almost back to the entrance to the bedroom when a voice joined in the obnoxious knocking.

"For fuck sake Nik would you open the door. I know you're in there, you couldn't possibly be at work."

In a flash caroline's hand was on the front door knob as she yanked it open. Standing in front of her was who she assumed to be Klaus brother Kol, who wasn't set to arrive for another several hours. Kol stood before her, fresh off a seven hour flight, his bronze hair disheveled and a smirk on his mischievous face. Looking at him, Caroline was suddenly very aware of how insane she must look. She was standing in the doorway in her oversized shirt and pajama shorts, her face bruised and her forehead stitched, clutching a kitchen knife.

Despite her bizarre and somewhat frightening appearance, Kol seemed over all unfazed, and shot her a smile as he sauntered into the apartment.

"I've got to admit-" he began as he dropped his duffle bag onto the floor and collapsed down on the couch.

" When my brother said i should postpone my visit because his girlfriend was recovering from an attack i thought he was just full of shit. A: because it all seemed a little too law and order, and B, i didn't actually think he'd have a girlfriend." Caroline placed the knife down on the kitchen counter and leaned against it for support. Kol had grabbed a pillow from the couch and hugged it to his chest as he grinned up at her.

"So where is my darling brother?" He asked, his eyes scanning around the apartment as if he expected Klaus to be lurking in a corner. Caroline's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"At work?" She stated. Shouldn't Kol know this. She vaguely remembered Klaus having a phone conversation with his brother about what flights would be best based on his work schedule. Kol let out a laugh of disbelief.

" You're serious? He actually has a job? I find that hard to picture. I thought he'd be lounging around, living off his trust fund. Much like myself." Kol continued to ramble on about showing up early in hopes of catching his brother in some embarrassing act or another, but Caroline had almost entirely stopped listening. She just wanted to go back to bed, curl up in the covers and turn on the tv loud enough that she couldn't hear her own thought so she could fall back asleep. She muttered something along those lines to Kol as she shuffled back into the bedroom, holding her side in pain. She sat back down on the bed and pulled her covers around her. Caroline reached for her phone, knowing she should text NIk and let him know that his brother had arrived, but before she could her eyes had already fallen closed, and she was asleep.

…..

When Caroline woke up next it was to the sounds of shouting voices. The clock now read just past four pm, around the time Nik had promised to be home. Caroline slide slowly off the bed and shuffled towards the door to the living space. She stood silently in the doorway and surveyed the room before her. Kol was standing in front of his brother looking amused, while Niks eyes were filled with fury. She glanced around the apartment and was shocked to see that it was a complete and total mess. The drawers in the kitchen had all been pulled open and gone through, books had been pulled off the shelves and left open in heaps around the apartment.

Klaus had clearly just walked in the door, and been shocked to find his brother standing in the rumble of his once clean apartment.

Caroline suddenly felt immensely guilty for falling asleep and not texting Nik a warning about his brother, She had allowed for her boyfriend to walk straight into an ambush. She cleared her throat and both Nik and Kols heads snapped around to look at her.

" I meant to call you." She stated in a soft guilty voice. Klaus's face broke from anger and confusion to amusement.

" It's my fault really. I should have known he'd just show up." Kol rolled his eyes and shrugged.

" It's sort of my thing."


End file.
